


Never Let You Go

by ariawrites



Series: Never Let You Go [2]
Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: F/M, Haleb, I basically decided to fix 7x02 because I was disappointed and kept it up for a couple of episodes, I never copied this over from my FF account, Not good times for Hanna, aaaaaall the Haleb, angsty af, but it's here now, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-14 18:24:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 37
Words: 120,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18481843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariawrites/pseuds/ariawrites
Summary: I was really disappointed by 7x02 and so I decided to try and fix it. This is a Haleb fic, but I tried to resolve things with Spencer too. Kinda what I wished had happened, plus me getting carried away I think! I'm now fixing each new ep, with 4 chapters per ep until things on the show are in a place we'd all like, so Haleb back together I guess? Rating as M just in case for Hanna.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, so when I made this account, I copied all my fics over from FF except for this one, I think I forgot. BUT it's here now..super late. I'm just uploading everything in one go rather than doing an update schedule for this seeing as I literally just need to copy and paste. 
> 
> Original A/N: Okay so I'm a huge Haleb shipper and 6B really bugged me but I rolled with it. I was excited for season 7 to start and I loved how Caleb was all gung-ho about finding Hanna, it gave me such Haleb feels and I had missed that. Like missed it to the extent that I started to rewatch because I needed my Haleb fix. I'm now on Season 3, and totally debating doing a couple of other fics but we'll see cos it's from ages ago! ANYWAY. 7x02 really, really bugged me. I wanted so much more to happen, I wanted Caleb to talk to Spencer, I wanted him to be there for Hanna, I wanted Mona to make an appearance, I wanted so much more than what we got. I hated the episode. Everyone gave Hanna some hella weird look after the flowers, Caleb just let Hanna go and then went off with Spencer. I'm feeling kinda funny about the show right now because Caleb has always been a favourite character of mine and I feel like the writers are screwing him up and screwing up Haleb. I still ship Haleb but it feels weird right now.
> 
> So yeah, I got bit by the bug and I had to write this. This is my first PLL fic, fingers crossed I did good!

Caleb heard the sound of a car pulling up outside Spencer's house. She and the others had been reading him the riot act for his stunt with the jacket, but he didn't care. All that mattered was getting Hanna back, but they'd had no word from A and Caleb was starting to get worried. Mona had already left, and the other girls plus Toby and Ezra where on their way out when they all heard the car pull up outside the house. They all froze and looked at each other. Caleb was already on his feet without realising it. He ran to the front door and threw it open. The first thing he noticed was Mary Drake sitting in the driver's seat. His heart sank. But then a flash of blonde caught his eye. His heart started to pound as the passenger door opened…and then Hanna emerged. "Hanna" he breathed and started down the steps of the Hastings porch. He stopped short when she emerged from the car. She was wrapped in a blanket and her legs where bare and covered in bruises and what looked like burn marks, as where her arms and neck from what he could see. He felt the blood drain from his face. He knew AD wouldn't exactly be nice to Hanna but he guessed he hadn't been expecting….this. Her lip was swollen and bloody just like it was in the photo. He swallowed. "oh my God" he heard Aria murmur, and he glanced back briefly to see the other girls had joined him, each looking horrified. Ezra came up behind Aria and put his hand on her arm, while Toby shared a look with Caleb.

"Someone call Mona and tell her to get here….now" Caleb ground out to the girls, and Emily immediately took out her phone and started to dial. Caleb knew Hanna would want to see her best friend, and if he was honest, he felt a little like Mona was the only other person who had been as determined as him to get Hanna back. Hell they'd actually agreed on something. Worked together. Mona had been the only one who hadn't shouted at him for his stunt, she'd merely given him an approving nod. Emily had been reluctant to hand Ali over and Caleb wouldn't forget that easily. The way she'd held back information, letting Hanna suffer at the hands of AD for longer than was necessary. That Emily had been willing to keep Hanna's life in danger for a killer. He could see them all settling in for a debate, sure the others had all been adamant that Hanna needed to be saved, and that they needed to turn Ali over, but he knew Emily would fight it and they'd waste even more time. He'd grabbed the jacket and gone. As he stared at Hanna, he wondered how much of the damage done to her could have been avoided if they hadn't wasted so much time.

Mary Drake exited the car as Hanna closed the passenger door and started to make her way around the car. She swayed as if she was light headed…but then he doubted she'd had anything to eat the entire time she'd been gone. He stood frozen to the ground, watching as Mary reached out to steady Hanna, and watched as she flinched reflexively. Mary took no offence and started to help Hanna towards her friends. Caleb unfroze and started to move. When he reached Hanna he wrapped her in his arms, burying his face in her hair. He felt her stiffen, and he quickly pulled back, studying her face. She wouldn't meet his eyes, she was too busy staring vacantly at the ground. He frowned at her in worry, and turned to look at the others. Aria gave her head a quick shake and then moved forward.

"Han?" Aria got no response. She looked at Caleb, he tried, "Hanna?" she looked up at the two of them, and the look in her eyes made them both inhale. He thought she'd looked bad after the ordeal in the dollhouse but that was nothing to this. Her eyes where vacant.

"I was driving, and she came out of nowhere, burst out of the woods at the side of the road. She was screaming for help and crying, covered in bruises and burns, I asked her if she wanted to go to the police or the hospital but she said she had to see her friends first. She insisted." Mary Drake spoke from next to Hanna. Caleb felt his hand ball in to a fist. Aria was just looking at Hanna, tentatively reaching out to take her arm, "Thanks, we'll take care of her" Aria said to Mary. "Come on Han, let's get you inside" Aria started to slowly guide Hanna in to the house. Caleb stared down Mary Drake, but before he could say anything, Toby pulled him away by the arm. "Whatever you're thinking of doing, it's not going to erase what happened, just let it go for now, Hanna needs you" Caleb let Toby take him inside. He pointedly didn't look at any of the others as they passed. When they made it in to the house, Caleb saw Aria murmuring in to Hanna's ear and stroking her hair, and Hanna just kept staring vacantly. It was really starting to creep him out. This wasn't his Hanna. Or rather Hanna in general. Aria hurried over to he and Toby.

"I'm gonna take her to the bathroom for a hot bath, she's gonna need something to wear, and food and water and-"

"I got it" Caleb interrupted her.

"I'll make her something to eat, and get her some water" Toby said, moving off in the direction of the kitchen.

"I'll go grab something for her to wear from the barn" Spencer's voice came from behind Caleb, Aria nodded. Caleb was too busy watching Hanna with concern to acknowledge Spencer.

"I'll help you get her to the bathroom" Caleb murmured to Aria. He moved towards Hanna and raised his hand to take her arm, but she flinched away. Caleb let his arm drop. Aria hurried past him, to resume her spot by Hanna. Aria must have seen the disappointment on his face.

"I'm smaller than like…everyone here. I'm the most non-threatening one out of us, the adrenalin from escaping has worn off and now she's just…she needs some time" Caleb nodded, but was unwilling to let Hanna out of his sight, so he followed as Aria gently led Hanna up the stairs. He stayed outside the door as Aria helped Hanna bathe, washing off the dirt and the blood. He could hear Aria murmuring to her in a soothing voice. He wasn't sure what was going to happen in the future.

Hanna told him that she still loved him, had never stopped loving him, and he knew he still loved her. He'd thought, all this time, that she'd been happy with Jordan, so he'd let her go. Her kidnapping had only made it more obvious that he still loved her, and letting her go was a mistake. When he'd seen her hanging there in the bell tower…he nearly lost his mind. He'd felt his heart break, felt his stomach drop with such force he'd nearly stumbled. Would have fallen down if he hadn't been so determined to get to her. His relief had outweighed his worry at realising it was a doll. When he'd seen the photo of her that AD had sent, he'd felt relief that she was still alive, but it was fleeting. His heart had dropped, and he'd been consumed by worry, anger, and a need to get to her. To save her. He'd clutched the phone and made to bring it to his chest. To hug it. The way he wanted to hold Hanna right then. She looked completely and utterly terrified and it was his fault. He'd let her down. He still loved her. Had never stopped loving her. And he wasn't going to let her go. He didn't care about Jordan, they'd figure it out. He'd have to talk with Spencer, although he thought Spencer probably already knew after the events of the last 24 hours, and he hoped she wouldn't hate Hanna or take it out on her. It was his fault. He thought Hanna was happy without him, and he'd been trying to move on knowing he wasn't ready to and she didn't deserve any of this but…he'd lost Hanna before and he wouldn't do it again. He started as Ezra came up the stairs.

"First aid kit. I thought Aria might need it, Hanna's cuts and her-"

"I know" Caleb cut him off, shuddering as his brain showed him all the possible ways she could have acquired those…burns. Ezra nodded and placed the kit in his hands.

"Emily talked to Mona, she said she'd be here as fast as she can" Caleb just nodded and was saved from responding when the bathroom door opened to reveal Aria. Caleb immediately turned and started to search the room behind her. He spotted Hanna sitting on the edge of the bathtub, wrapped in a fluffy robe, her hair pulled back from her face. Aria closed the door behind her.

"I don't know what exactly happened to her, but it can't have been good. She's spent hours god knows where in basically nothing, there are bruises all over her body and these…burn marks. But they don't look exactly like burn marks? I don't know what they are" Aria swallowed.

"I do" Ezra said, "I saw them on….it doesn't matter. They're electrical burns" Aria gave him a curious look. Caleb felt bile rising up his throat.

"What do you mean, electrical burns?" Aria asked. Ezra looked between her and Caleb, then put his hand on Aria's arm.

"They're a form of torture, Aria. You douse the person in water, and then you…" he glanced at Caleb.

"You shock them with electricity" Caleb whispered. Aria swallowed.

"I'm guessing AD wanted to make sure she didn't know who killed Charlotte" Ezra said quietly.

Caleb looked down at the kit in his hands. "I should…or maybe you should?" Caleb looked at Aria.

"I'm thinking you know more about first aid than I do" Aria tried to joke. Caleb looked uncertainly at the door. "I'll come with you. She's just….everything's sinking in you know? She had the adrenalin to keep her going before but now?" Aria shook her head slightly. Caleb nodded and pushed open the bathroom door slowly.

"Hanna? I need to look at your injuries" he said quietly. She didn't react, except to look at him briefly. He slowly made his way to where she was sitting on the edge of the tub. He looked her over. He could see cuts on her hands and arms, presumably from the foliage of the forest as she was running through it, he assumed her feet must be pretty beat up too. He glanced at Aria and she nodded at him encouragingly. He carefully took out what he'd need from the first aid kit and started to dab cream on to her burns while Aria disinfected the cuts, getting Hanna to lift her feet to do those ones too. The most worrying thing? Hanna, who usually squeals and shrieks whenever she has this kind of treatment, didn't react at all. She didn't even flinch. He and Aria worked in silence, until all of Hanna's injuries where tended to as best as they could manage.

"Maybe we should have just taken her to the hospital" Aria murmured.

"No. No doctors" A quiet voice said. Aria and Caleb both looked at Hanna in surprise.

"Han…these are pretty bad and this is just the outside, are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I'm fine" Aria and Caleb shared a look but before they could respond there was a slight knock on the door before Ezra poked his head round the door.

"Spencer just brought these up" he held up a pile of clothes.

"Great, I'll help her dress and-"

"No. I can do it myself" Hanna said, in that same monotone voice.

"Han-" Caleb started

"I can do it myself" she repeated. The other three occupants of the room all glanced at each other. Ezra deferred to Aria, handing her the clothes and backing out of the room, Aria placed the clothes in a pile on top of the laundry basket before turning to look at Caleb.

"What?"

"Out"

"No"

"Yes"

"No"

"Caleb, yes"

"No. I'm not leaving her"

"Let him stay, it's not like he hasn't seen it before" Hanna said in an indifferent voice. Caleb flushed slightly.

"I'll uh…I'll just" and he quickly turned around, staring at the wall as he listened to Aria passing various items to Hanna to dress in.

"You can look now" Hanna said and Caleb slowly turned around. She was dressed in grey pants, warm looking slippers that would be soft on her delicate feet, and a baggy jumper that hid all the marks on her skin. There was another knock on the door, and Caleb and Aria turned as it slowly opened, this time Toby popped his head in.

"I made some warm soup for Hanna, with some bread and whatever else I could find that I thought she might like"

"Thanks" Caleb murmured, nodding at Toby as Toby backed out of the room. Caleb turned to look at Aria, and whispered, "Do we take her down to the Kitchen? The others are down there but…."

"But they might crowd her?"

"Yeah. Emily's not in the best mood and you know Spencer and her…questions"

"You where totally going to say interrogations weren't you?"

"…..no…I just…Hanna's been through a lot, she's just started speaking again, I don't want her to clam up. It worries me"

"I'm right here you know" Hanna's voice floated over to them.

"We know Han, we just-"

"I'll go down to the kitchen. It's fine"

Caleb and Aria shared a look, nothing about this was fine.


	2. Chapter Two

Hanna could feel their eyes on her as she ate, but she carried on eating steadily, ignoring them for now. She'd thought she was fine. But when the conversation had died in the car, her thoughts had turned inwards and she'd…shut down. She was relatively safe, and on her way to her friends, her brain obviously decided it was time to process everything. She just felt numb. Exhausted. Emotionally drained. She appreciated Aria taking care of her, she'd murmured soothing words to her and comforted her as best she could. She hadn't peppered her with endless questions.

She hadn't meant to flinch at Caleb, it was just….the look on his face. She'd known it wasn't directed at her, it was directed at whoever had kidnapped her, but it had still made her flinch, and while she loved being in his arms..she hadn't been ready for that level of human contact. In between the torture and the 'wanting to die' thoughts she'd had while being held, she hadn't had much time to think about Caleb, and her feelings for Caleb. She knew he was there the entire time, never far away. She didn't know what she was going to do. Things between them where so broken, and then there was Spencer and Jordan and now this. Hanna had never stopped loving Caleb. She'd thought that he was happy with Spencer, and as much as it hurt her…she'd given them the go ahead. She wanted him to be happy, to have another chance at what they'd lost, even if it wasn't with her. Caleb would just always be the one who got away, but then in the motel, she'd been scared and he made her feel so safe and she thought it might be her last chance to tell him the truth about that night. To be honest with him. He'd made the comment about letting her down and she couldn't help but remember when she let him down and she wanted him to know the truth….just in case. She'd told him how she felt and he'd looked at her and….she'd known. She'd known that…that he'd never stopped loving her either. She could see it in his eyes. In his facial expression as he reached out to touch her cheek. He'd looked at her with…..with love. Hanna knew that despite what she said….she wasn't fine. And she knew it was going to effect her and her life. When he said he wasn't leaving her, Hanna had briefly looked up. She'd studied his face and realised he meant it. Seen the look in his eyes. He wasn't going to let her go, not this time. But maybe he should. She'd deal with it later. For now she needed to talk to her friends. Actually…she needed to finish this soup first, Toby was a surprisingly good cook.

Caleb watched Hanna the entire time she was eating. Never taking his eyes off of her, making sure she was eating. She was eating slowly and he wasn't sure if it was because she hadn't eaten in over 24 hours or if she was that stiff and sore. He clenched his fist. He couldn't get the image of Hanna's bruised and burned skin out of his mind. He couldn't imagine the pain she'd felt. How scared she'd been. He could feel Spencer watching him. He ignored it. He would talk to her later, the first opportunity he got but for now his main focus was Hanna, like it had been ever since she was kidnapped. He watched as she finished up eating, then turned and slowly slid off the bar stool. Standing and facing all of them except for Ezra, who was making coffee to the side of her. Caleb shot up out of his seat and rushed to help her.

"Caleb I can walk" she swatted at him, moving slowly past him. He followed close behind ready to grab her if she stumbled. "Caleb...I am not a toddler taking her first steps and you are not my mother" she snarked at him. He smiled. Snarky Hanna meant she was feeling better...for now.

"Here Han, sit down" Aria said, gesturing her to a soft, comfy looking seat the Hastings had, while everyone else moved about. Caleb settled opposite Hanna, with Aria next to him, both close enough to offer comfort to Hanna but not crowd her. Hanna slowly walked over and sat down on it, drawing her knees up to her chest, hands close to her body as she fiddled with her fingers. They sat in silence, listening to Ezra as he finished up with the coffee, Caleb studied Hanna the entire time. He couldn't help himself. He thought he'd lost her for those few minutes in the bell tower, and he still could have if he hadn't handed Alison over to A. He'd do it again.

"Here Hanna" Ezra said, placing a mug on the table in front of her, not getting too close, bending down to her level so he wasn't towering over her. Caleb smiled at him gratefully then he turned his attention back to Hanna, his eyes tracked her as she leant forward, snatching up the mug, then retreating back to her previous position, clasping the mug in both hands. He suspected she just wanted something to do with her hands, rather than actually needing a drink. The more he watched her move, the more he saw how much pain she was in...physically and mentally.

"Hannah are you sure you don't want to go to the doctor?" he said with concern. He would have grabber her, thrown her in his car and taken her to the hospital himself, but he thought that kind of action would have messed with her already fragile mental state.

"I'm sure"

"Han I think you should" Aria said, worry filled her voice. She and Caleb where the only two who'd gotten a good look at Hanna and her injuries.

"The doctors are going to ask questions, and then I'll have to lie. No doctors, no questions" Hanna retreated back in to herself. Caleb could see Spencer moving in his periphery. He was amazed she'd managed to hold off the questioning until now. He didn't like it, but he didn't have much choice, Spencer wasn't going to back down. He and Aria shared a look, and then both turned to watch as Spencer went to sit next to Hanna. Hanna started to shift in her seat. "Back up" Aria mouthed to Spencer, who shifted to sit at the very end of the couch. It was the best they where going to get with Spencer when she was on the hunt for clues.

"Hanna, I'm sorry…but you have to tell us about Mary Drake picking you up"

"Is she real?" They all exchanged looks, Caleb began to worry Hanna had been messed up more than he realised, but she continued, "I mean, is she really who she says she is?" Caleb felt some small measure of relief.

"We think so" Emily finally spoke up. She'd been quiet since Caleb had gotten back, she definitely wasn't happy and Caleb hoped she wouldn't take it out on Hanna.

"Yeah, she was a patient at Radley, we found her file"

"What?" Caleb forgot how much Hanna had missed.

"She's Alison's aunt. Charlotte's biological mother"

"The DiLaurentis family adopted Charlotte" Caleb couldn't read Hanna's face as she momentarily became lost in thought.

"So it's her. Mary Drake. She's been after us all along. I mean…someone killed her daughter and then she shows up to get even." Hanna said blankly.

"Yeah we're pretty sure she didn't show up just to get in to the resort business" Caleb's attempt at humour fell flat. He'd been hoping to get a smile out of Hanna, but it failed miserably. She hadn't even looked at him.

"She must have been chasing me when I got out" Caleb leant further forward, barely managing to keep himself in his seat. Keep himself from going after Mary. "But why wouldn't she just run me over instead of bringing me here?" Caleb was too busy imagining that scenario to respond to Hanna. Emily refused to speak. Aria wasn't sure how to phrase it and looked helplessly at Ezra, so it was Ezra that finally told her.

"Because we gave her exactly what she wanted" Hanna frowned.

"Charlotte's killer"

"We're convinced it's Alison" Caleb said, before Hanna could voice her next question. Hanna didn't react at all.

"We found evidence" Aria said quietly, reassuringly.

"Spencer, can I have something stronger than coffee in here?" Hanna asked. Caleb guessed it was a lot to take in after…everything.

"Yeah" Spencer said without hesitation, taking the mug and retreating to the cupboards. Caleb took a breath. This was his chance. He had to do it now before he lost his nerve, Hanna may have told him that she still loved him but she obviously felt something for Jordan or she wouldn't have agreed to marry him. He felt nervous. Sweaty hands, nervous. She hadn't asked what had happened to her ring, but she must have been wondering where it was...did she want it back? He stopped shifting about and was debating actually giving it back to her when Aria nudged him.

"I know you have it, you found it on the...thing, in the bell tower. You have to give it back to her Caleb, whatever happens with you two" she whispered to him.

"But what if she takes it and goes back to Jordan? We kissed Aria, she told me she still loved me"

"Caleb, everyone knew that except for you" Aria rolled her eyes.

"Y-you did? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"Because nobody knew what had happened with you, and you seemed happy with Spencer"

"If you'd told me, we could have avoided all this...mess" Caleb said frustrated.

"If you'd told us what had happened between you and Hanna, we could have avoided this miss" she hissed back.

"I...I can't lose her again Aria"

"Caleb. She's been through a lot okay. She's still processing, this isn't going to be easy. She can't tell Jordan about any of this...or she won't. She wants to be normal and he gives her that, but he doesn't understand her like you do, doesn't know her like you do. You need to trust in that, trust in the feelings the two of you share. Give her the ring back. Do everything right."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm sure it's crossed your mind that if you didn't give her the ring...'lost it'" Aria mimed air quotes, "Then she'll end up in a fight with Jordan. Do this the right way Caleb, this is already messy enough as it is without more fighting and Hanna could do without that, don't you think?"

Caleb hated that Aria was right.

"What are you two whispering about?" Hanna said quietly. Caleb jumped. He glanced at Aria. " .Back" Aria mouthed at him before shoving him in the shoulder. Caleb got up and slowly approached Hanna's seat, sitting closer to her than Spencer had, but not as close as he'd like to be. Seeing her sitting there like that...he just wanted to hold her. But he didn't think she'd like that right now.

"Before I forget...this belongs to you" he said quietly, holding out her engagement ring while Aria animatedly started to chat to Ezra and Toby. Hanna looked between him and the ring. Caleb wasn't sure what he wanted her to do. No, scratch that he was. He wanted her to not take the ring, to say…things she couldn't say. Not with an audience. One of whom still needs to be told about what happened in that room. He kept his face unreadable, or at least tried to. He studied her facial expression, he saw some sort of emotion flickering in her eyes, and then the walls came down. _So that's how it's going to go._ He thought. He knew what Hanna's next move was going to be, and he started to prepare for his next move. Hanna meanwhile, had adopted an expression that suggested she couldn't believe he'd bring this up here.

"Is this some sort of messed up 'me or him' situation? Because I don't need this right now Caleb" she hissed.

"No Hanna. I just know it'd cause some problems for you if you lost your ring, okay?" She looked at him like she wasn't sure she believed him. A couple more glances….then she took the ring, "Thanks" she mumbled.

"For the record...you don't need to choose. I know you've already chosen, I'm just waiting for you to admit it" he smirked at her. Hoping to get a rise out of her, to see his fiery Hanna but before Hanna could react, there was a knock at the door. Caleb saw Hanna tense up, clasping her hands together so tight the knuckles went white. Caleb shifted so he was in front of Hanna, and turned to face the door.

Hanna shoved the ring in to the pocket of her pants as Caleb looked in the direction of the door. She didn't miss the way he moved to shield her. She'd missed that side of Caleb, not that she'd admit that out loud right now. She didn't want to put the ring back on her finger...but at the same time she did. The ring represented everything normal. The normal A free life she'd been leading. Could still lead. She knew deep down that her life would never be normal, not after everything that had happened but she couldn't help but cling to the dream.

She wasn't sure why Caleb had chosen that exact moment to shove the ring at her, but she'd seen her choice laid out in front of her. Caleb or Jordan. All Hanna could see was that night when she screwed everything up with Caleb. All the times she'd screwed things up with him. She couldn't seem to stop ruining things between them. Caleb wanted her back, she knew that, but she couldn't take him back. She just couldn't. It would hurt Spencer and it would hurt him because she would ruin things again like she always does. Hanna did what she'd been doing for weeks...she chose to ignore her feelings for Caleb and just take the ring.

Things would never be the same again, not after everything that's happened. At that moment Hanna wanted nothing more than to leave Rosewood and never look back. To go to another town where people don't get kidnapped and tortured by psychos with too much time on their hands and an axe to grind. Hanna was lost in thought, so she didn't really hear what Ezra was saying, but she knew the flowers he'd come back in with where from A or AD or whoever the hell it was. Caleb was still sitting protectively in front of her, and Aria was still at her place to the side of Hanna, they where looking at the others, but their expressions where off...they looked angry. Hanna shifted to follow their eye line and she saw that they where staring down Emily who looked...well...she didn't look happy. Hanna guessed she was upset they'd handed Ali over to save Hanna. _Great, one of my best friends resents me._ She had to look away. It was all her fault. All her stupid idea. When would she stop screwing up?

Caleb and Aria where with Hanna on one side of the room, and Caleb felt like they where in some kind of stand off. Emily was not pleased at all about what had happened, but Caleb refused to apologise. He would do anything to save Hanna. He knew Aria was with him, she'd immediately jumped in with him when Emily had wanted to start some little debate and waste time. Ezra and Toby where studying the note and Spencer was apparently not getting involved. At that moment the door burst open, Hanna jumped and Caleb and Aria both reached out to calm her, as Mona came rushing in to the kitchen but stopped short when she saw the looks on everyone's faces.

"O-kay, what did I miss? Oooh pretty flowers!" Everyone stared at her. "What? WHAT!?" Hanna let out a very quiet chuckle. Caleb smiled, he knew Mona was the right call to make. Out of everyone in this room, Mona cared about Hanna as much as he did, Aria too. Caleb hoped the three of them would be enough to help her, because Emily clearly wasn't ready to, and after Caleb spoke to Spencer...he wasn't sure she'd want to. He would try his best to make sure that Spencer knew this wasn't Hanna's fault but...Spencer was entitled to feel however she wanted to feel.

"Han? What have they got you wearing? Oh no no no, here, I brought your favourite sweats! Plus…" Mona dived in to her large handbag pulling out a makeup bag. "Just in case you wanted to feel a little more human! Or….needed to do some cover up" Mona finished lamely. Caleb knew she was trying to help in the only way she knew how…makeup and clothes. It was her and Hanna's thing. She was talking to throw off her worry, and Caleb could see Hanna appreciated it, she managed a weak smile for her. Mona returned her smile with the biggest she could manage. Mona walked over to Hanna and before Aria and Caleb could stop her, she gave Hanna a tight, quick hug. Caleb could see Hanna stiffen, but she didn't push Mona away, Mona stepped back looking worried. Hanna glanced between him, Aria and Mona before taking a breath.

"Can we stop with the staring. I feel like i'm in the zoo. _Aw look at the poor panda_."

"A panda Hanna?" he chuckled.

"What's wrong with a panda? They're adorable okay?"

"Kinda like you" He leaned in to whisper to her.

"Caleb. Now is not the time for...whatever you're doing. Hanna needs some MLC" Caleb looked up to see Mona looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What the hell is MLC?"

"Mona's Loving Care" Caleb snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Shall we?" Mona turned and addressed Hanna, who just nodded before getting to her feet. Mona started to lead the way to the stairs, Caleb following close behind when Aria stopped him.

"I'm gonna stay down here and keep an eye on things" Caleb nodded to her, then rushed to catch up with Hanna and Mona, making sure he was close enough to help Hanna if she needed it. Not that she'd ask. When they reached the bathroom for the second time that morning, Mona turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow, blocking the door.

"Where she goes, I go" Mona just raised her other eyebrow.

"Do you really think I can't protect Hanna while she puts on sweats?" before he could respond Mona turned round and sashayed in to the bathroom, closing the door in his face.

Caleb waited outside while Hanna changed, close enough that he could hear if anything happened. He spun when the door opened a few minutes later

"You can come in now" Mona said, airily. "I see you survived being parted for 5 minutes" she snarked.

"Considering the last time I left her she was kidnapped, I'm not making that mistake again" Mona levelled him with a considering look but didn't say anything. He turned to address Hanna, who was wearing a very familiar set of sweats.

"Feel better in your own clothes Han?" Caleb asked her. She just nodded, fiddling with the sleeves on her top. Mona held up the makeup bag.

"So…..nothing makes us feel better like makeup!"

"Thanks Mona" Hanna said with a slight smile. He wasn't sure if she genuinely wanted Mona to do her makeup, to make her feel more human, or if she was just humouring Mona to make Mona feel better. Or both. But he watched as Mona deftly applied makeup to Hanna's face, eyes and lips, nothing heavy, just natural.

"Enough to make you feel more like….you" Mona said with a smile. Before swallowing. "Do you….do you want me to cover up some of the marks?" Mona asked hesitantly gesturing at Hanna's neck where a couple could be seen that weren't covered by clothes. "It'll be like it never happened, if you want?"

"No. I can't pretend this didn't happen…it did. I shouldn't...I shouldn't try and hide from it." Mona hugged her again. Caleb noticed that Hanna was looking very uncomfortable, and he didn't think it was because of Mona, Mona was too small to be threatening, much like Aria. He moved closer to Hanna while Mona was packing her things away.

"If you don't want Mona to see, I can try and cover them for you? If you tell me how to use that...gloopy stuff" Caleb whispered trying to make her smile. He knew what foundation was, she'd once lectured him for 15 minutes on the different shades and brands. That was the last time he ever made fun of Hanna's makeup routine.

"Leave it Caleb" Hanna snapped.

Caleb watched as Hanna raised her hand to the mark on her neck, studying it in the mirror. Caleb watched as her breathing became quicker, he could see her mentally leaving the room. Caleb turned as Mona came up next to him, they shared a grim look. Caleb inched closer to Hanna so as not to startle her and gently touched her elbow. Her eyes shot to his in the mirror

"Do you want to go home Han?" Caleb watched as she thought about it, before she nodded at him. "C'mon, I'll drive you" he said, moving to stand on one side of her.

"I'll come too…keep you company! We can watch movies and eat crappy food" Mona added, flanking Hanna's other side.

"I hate to break it to you Mona, but…..I don't have any food in my apartment right now" Hanna said quietly.

"Not a problem hon, I'll hit the store and meet you guys there!" Caleb didn't miss the way Hanna smiled properly for the first time at Mona, he could see her dimples clearly. He felt his heart swell.

As they came down the stairs, Caleb noticed Spencer and Emily furiously whispering about something. He caught the words "doll house" as he went past and frowned. Caleb left Hanna with Mona and made his way over to Aria who was standing with Ezra and Toby, chatting.

"What's that about?"

"They're arguing about Hanna. Emily isn't...she loves Hanna but...she loves Ali too you know? Emily's just having a hard time dealing right now, she's glad Hanna's back but Hanna being back meant Ali's in danger. I tried to talk to her but she jumped down my throat. She's not too happy with what I said. Spencer's trying to get her to see reason but it's not going so well, clearly" Caleb studied Aria's facial expression, he knew she was telling the truth. So why where Spencer and Emily whispering about the doll house without Aria? Before he could ask her, Aria moved off to Hanna.

"Hey Han, you look like you're feeling better" Aria smiled.

"I guess" Hanna replied, shrugging.

"I'm supposed to be meeting Liam, but I can cancel if you want some company?" Aria asked her. Hanna shook her head.

"It's okay, go. I don't mind, you've been babysitting me all morning, you deserve a break" Aria frowned at Hanna.

"You know I don't mind Han"

"I know, and I'm grateful. I just know you have stuff going on that you need to deal with" Aria looked like she was going to argue for a minute, but she obviously took in Hanna's stance and decided to back down.

"Okay, but if you need me you call me, promise me Han?"

"I promise" Caleb watched as Hanna allowed Aria to hug her, whispering a "thank you" in the dark haired girls ear. Caleb grabbed her as she passed.

"She just doesn't want to burden you because you already took care of her all morning." Caleb whispered, "Plus, I have a feeling she wants to be alone, she'll probably try and give me and Mona the slip"

"Well...good luck with that. You and Mona looked like you where Velcroed to her coming down those stairs" Aria chuckled. "I'll go and leave you guys with her so she isn't crowded, but I want updates, and if she needs anything, let me know" Caleb nodded. Then waved as Aria and Ezra left. Aria calling to Hanna to call her one more time. Toby had quietly slipped out at some point, and that left, he, Mona, Spencer and Emily. The latter two had stopped their whisper argument.

"Mona and I are gonna take Hanna back to her apartment" he announced. "I'll see you later Spencer" he said as he grabbed his jacket and keys.

"Emily and I will come with you! Hanna should be with her friends right now" Spencer babbled. Caleb narrowed his eyes.

"I don't think we should be crowding her right now"

"We won't be, have you seen her apartment? It's huge"

"That is not the point Spencer, too many people will make her uncomfortable, I'd kinda like for her to relax. In case you haven't noticed she's been on edge the entire time she's been here with everyone staring at her"

"As if you weren't staring at her too Caleb, I saw you"

"Can we not do this right now? I want to take Hanna home so she can be comfortable, and I want to keep an eye on her. She was kidnapped on my watch" Spencer sighed.

"I know Caleb. I get you feel guilty" Spencer avoided eye contact, and Caleb was willing to bet Spencer knew he was feeling a lot more than guilty.

"Spencer, I'm sorry"

"I know. We'll talk about it later. Emily and I are coming. We just want to make sure she's okay, we won't stay long" Caleb reluctantly nodded. It wasn't long before they where in their separate cars and on their way to Hanna's, or in Mona's case...the store and then Hanna's. Caleb hoped Mona was a speedy shopper, he had a bad feeling that Emily and Spencer where up to something.


	3. Chapter Three

Caleb, Hanna, Emily and Spencer arrived at Hanna's apartment, the journey up to Hanna's apartment had been…interesting. Emily and Spencer where definitely up to something. The two of them where studying her more than he was and he wasn't sure he liked it. It made him uneasy. That and the mentions of the doll house. Mona wasn't there yet, she'd stopped off at the store to grab a load of Hanna's favourite food for their movie marathon. Caleb had managed to pull Mona to the side before she got in her car, under the guise of making sure she knew which foods Hanna liked best. Mona had rolled her eyes and been about to retort when he'd made that comment out loud, until he started to fill her in on what had happened and been said so far while she'd been absent, in a low whisper. Mona had seemed even more worried than he was. He found himself feeling glad for Mona. Glad that Hanna had a friend who cared about her that much. She'd been the one to help him when Hanna had been kidnapped and it had honestly felt like they where the only ones pushing to save Hanna. Aria had helped Hanna when she was returned to them but Mona had thrown her all in to saving Hanna.

Caleb was eager for Emily and Spencer to leave, so he could talk to Hanna on her own before Mona got back from the store. She'd taken the ring from him and if Hanna thought that was the end of it, she was wrong. He wasn't letting go od Hanna this time, in fact he was fairly certain he wouldn't be able to let her out of his sight for a long time. He would talk to Spencer soon, but for now…he needed to talk to Hanna. He'd seen her walls come down and he knew what that meant. She was going to do her best to push him away, either for what she thought was his own happiness, or for his own safety, and he wasn't going to let it happen. Besides, he wanted to make sure she was okay…or as okay as she can be. He knew he was being ridiculous, but she'd been through so much the last 24 hours and she was barely speaking. Well…barely compared to her usual. Caleb just wanted to look after her. Keep her safe this time.

The kidnapping had made him realise all the feelings he still had for Hanna, that he'd pushed to the side and tried to get over for the past three years, and then shoved back down when he saw her again and had thought she was happy with Jordan. He liked Spencer, he did, they'd been great friends. Caleb had been hurting over Hanna when he'd run in to Spencer again, he guessed Spencer was a connection to Hanna, and it was screwed up but he wanted to be close to Hanna, and Spencer was Hanna's friend, her incredibly smart friend. Caleb loved Spencer's intelligence, her wit, he loved her. But he wasn't in love with her. He'd been realising it for a while now, but it had taken the kidnapping to show him that what he was doing was wrong, that the whole relationship was wrong, whatever he felt for Spencer….it paled in comparison to what he felt for Hanna. He felt awful, and he knew he'd made a mistake. While Caleb didn't take the relationship as seriously as Spencer did, it was still a relationship, and he'd engineered this messy, painful situation. He wasn't the one who was going to get hurt. But now he knew how Hanna really felt? He couldn't go another day without her.

Caleb unlocked the door, and pushed it open, he picked up Hanna's mail as he walked in.

"It's from Lucas" he hovered, watching as Hanna looked at it and then tossed it to the side, with no apparent interest in it. He'd have to talk to her about that. She deserved the chance Lucas was offering but somehow he didn't think she'd see it that way. Not now. His staring was interrupted by the other girls entering the apartment and he glanced away, surveying what he could see of her apartment. He shared a glance with Spencer when Hanna refused Emily's offer of help. Caleb figured Hanna was done being babied for the day, either that or she had picked up on Emily's slight resentment. Knowing Hanna, it was probably both, actually.

It would seem she was getting back to herself, little by little, or at least…seemed to be. He was willing to bet that this was all a front. There was more going on with Hanna, there had to be after what she'd been through. She just didn't want everyone worrying about her on top of everything else they had to deal with. That was the kind of person Hanna was. Caleb watched Hanna fiddling with the kettle, lost in thought. He walked towards Hanna, oblivious to everyone else in the apartment. She needed something else to think about right now and he had the perfect thing. Something for her to mull over.

"So, you gonna take Lucas up on his offer?" he hoped she would. It would be good for her. Good for…..them. Things would be different if she was her own boss. Hanna sighed.

"He's crazy" No, Lucas wasn't crazy, but Hanna was for not jumping at this opportunity, she deserved it, she would do…amazingly. She just needed to believe in herself. But then he figured that this had more to do with the events of the last 24 hours.

"He see's your potential" I do too, he said with his eyes.

"Potential for what?"

"For what you could do if you where in charge instead of…." instead of someone's personal slave, he finished mentally. Images from their time in New York flashing through his mind.

"Caleb, haven't you noticed? None of us are in charge of anything around here" _Here we go, Hanna's defence tactic is a go._ Caleb looked around to see where the other girls where. He didn't want an audience for this. He didn't see them so he turned back to Hanna.

"Well, we can fix that" fix us. Fix this. "No-ones giving up on anybody." _Don't give up on me_. If you take Lucas up on his offer, you'll be in charge of something. It might not be much, but it's something. You have talent Hanna, everyone believes in you, not just Lucas. Just think about it Han. Think what you could do. What…we could do" he whispered the last part. Hanna looked away from him.

"I'll think about the offer, but only because Lucas worked so hard on it" Caleb felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. It wasn't there for long. "But that's it. There is no subtext here, got it? I gave up on you a long time ago Caleb, when you left your phone behind so I'd never be able to contact you. Things are different now" she hissed.

"I was stupid and immature to do that Hanna. I shouldn't have left like that. But I'm not giving up on you. I'm not losing you again"

"You already lost me Caleb. Twice, once in New York and then a second time when you let some anonymous freak kidnap me and-" She cut herself off.

"And what Hanna?"

"And nothing, I'm done with this conversation"

"Hanna. Don't do this, stop trying to push me away"

"What do you want Caleb? Suppose we get through all of this, where does that leave us? Back to where we started" she questioned.

"I want you Hanna. How much more obvious can I make it? Spencer….I don't feel the same way about her that I do about you." Hanna snorted. Caleb could practically see her facade like a mask covering her face.

"So what, we get back together, destroy Spencer and then what? Go right back to where we started?"

"Well I guess that depends how far back we want to go" Caleb would do whatever it took to get Hanna back. Start fresh from the beginning. Pick up where they left off as he'd never left her. Whatever she wanted to do. All he wants is Hanna.

Hanna didn't respond for a minute or two, then she softened, relenting.

"Look, in that room in the resort, before all the lights went off and someone pushed me down a hole…..I was scared" he wasn't sure where she was going with this, but he was hoping it was going to be in the direction he wanted. But the look in her eyes told him not to get his hopes up.

"Me too" for you, he added. He'd been terrified for Hanna. For what could happen to her.

"But you where there. I always felt… safe around you. Even when we weren't getting along you made me feel safe. Maybe that's why what happened…happened. With us." oh. So she was still going with Operation Push Caleb Away By An Means Necessary.

"So you think…we just…went back to what we used to be? For a minute" He questioned her. Not buying what she was saying for a minute.

"Yeah" She replied quickly. Too quickly. "Only for a minute"

"Do you even believe what you're saying Hanna?"

"Yes." she stated. Caleb heard a slight waver in her voice that didn't match what she was saying. "All we ever did was argue, before you left. Things between us always get ruined." She said quietly. Before he could respond, Emily came back in to the room.

"Where's Spencer?" Caleb turned to look at Emily, then glanced around the apartment, not seeing her he headed for the door, the one place she must have gone. "I'll be back in a minute" Caleb said, taking a breath. He couldn't let this go on any longer, it was time to have that talk with Spencer. She needed to know because he needed to be with Hanna. She needed him. She could try and push him away all she liked with her bullshit justifications, but it wouldn't work. This time things would be different. He'd be different. Losing Hanna and then nearly losing her permanently had changed something in him. He'd never argue with her for a stupid reason again. He'd help her with whatever she wanted to do. If she took Lucas up on his offer, or anything else she wanted to do. He would be the boyfriend he was supposed to be this time around. He'd lost sight of that in their last few months together. He wouldn't again. As he headed out the door he passed Mona, laden down with shopping bags.

"Your….whatever she is, is down there, what-"

"Later, go see Hanna, I'll be back in a minute" he said as he brushed past her. He started to walk out of the door, but stopped and turned briefly, hoping against hope to see it. Mona threw her shoulders back and sashayed in to Hanna's apartment, dumping the bags on a table, before heading straight for Hanna, and unlike Emily, Hanna allowed Mona to take over making her hot drink, but then Mona really didn't give her much choice. Hanna even allowed Mona to scold her for trying to do it herself.

He didn't catch exactly what Mona said, he was too busy revelling in it….Hanna's smile, and he didn't care what she said either. All he cared about was Hanna's smile back in place. Even if it was only momentary. Even if it was weak, and ghostly at least it was there. As Hanna allowed Mona to hug her again, Caleb turned back around and headed out the door. Steeling himself.

Caleb found her at the end of the hall.

"Spencer?" he said quietly. He didn't miss her wiping her eyes.

"How's Hanna?"

"As well as you'd expect, Mona's here now though" he said awkwardly.

"Mona'll get Hanna on her on her feet again, she's a force to be reckoned with" Spencer said, dancing about the subject. Caleb took a deep breath.

"So how much did you hear?"

"All of it"

"I'm sorry Spencer, I was going to talk to you, but Hanna-"

"Was your priority. She always is"

"Look Spencer…..Hanna and I….before she was kidnapped, she told me…." he glanced up and saw Spencer close her eyes, "she told me she still loved me, had never stopped. She told me something I didn't know about that night. Something that changes everything. We kissed. Well…I kissed her. It was me, I initiated it."

"I figured as much" Spencer said, voice wavering.

"It was wrong and we shouldn't have but I was terrified of what would happen to her, and she was scared. When Hanna and I broke up, it was messy and unresolved. I acted rashly and I should have stayed to sort things out but I didn't and things didn't end as well as they could have, there was no closure. I never stopped loving Hanna, I thought she was happy with Jordan and I didn't want to screw that up for her. The past few days have just shown me that while I pushed my feelings aside, I never stopped loving her, I just tried to ignore it. But now that I know that she…that she still loves me. That she came back for me….I can't ignore my feelings anymore. I nearly lost her again, Spencer, and I can't…I won't let go of her this time Spencer. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have started anything with you, not when we where back here and I was seeing Hanna for the first time since that night. Not when things where unresolved, when there was no closure. I wasn't ready to move on, but I tried to anyway. I like you Spencer, I really do but I just don't-"

"You don't love me" she finished. He winced.

"No, I don't. Not like I love Hanna. We've always gotten on well Spencer, I just….I guess I wanted t be close to Hanna, and I liked you and we had so much in common and-"

"Some part of you wanted to hurt Hanna right? You and I both knew that no matter what she said she would never be okay with it. I guess that's what I get for breaking the 'Girl Code'" Spencer said, miming air quotes. Caleb felt his face pale as her words sunk in. She was right. He had known. How would he ever make this up to Hanna?

Spencer I-"

"I get it Caleb. I don't like it. But I get it. And I'd be a whole lot madder right now, if Hanna hadn't been mentally traumatised and needed you in one piece" Spencer tried for a chuckle, but it sounded miserable. Caleb had to admire her. He knew how much he was hurting her right now….but she still cared so much about her friend.

"This is partially my fault too you know. I knew how much Hanna loved you, had always loved you. I've seen your entire relationship. I had no idea how things had ended with you two, Hanna didn't ever want to talk about it which should have clued me in you know? I'm supposed to be smart" Spencer snorted. "But I jumped in anyway, I wasn't exactly in the best place either. I should have known better. I knew this relationship meant more to me than it did to you I just….I wanted to cling on to it, because it's the only good thing I have." Spencer smiled sadly.

"Spencer, I am so, so sorry. I'm sorry for everything, for this, for how I treated you when I was looking for Hanna, I was just so worried and I needed to find her and-"

"I know Caleb. I understand. You and Hanna…you have this…this bond. You belong together, what's that saying? About people finding their way back to each other? That's you guys. You do it again and again, I don't know why I didn't think it would happen this time"

"Spencer-"

"If you apologise one more time I will make it impossible for you to have children"

"Yes m'am"

"I'm mad at myself, I'm mad at you, and Hanna….she just tried to push you away and I know she did it because she didn't want to hurt me. She's been mentally tormented and she still thought about me over herself and what she wanted. I can't be mad at her. Not for wanting to get the truth out before….well she didn't know what would happen did she. That's the point. You though? You I can be mad at" Spencer sighed. "Right now, I need some time, okay?"

"Of course" Caleb agreed quickly. He thought about apologising again, just to make sure Spencer knew he really meant it. He eyed her footwear and decided against it. "Just so you know, you can't possibly think any worse of me than I do of myself right now" Spencer just nodded.

"I'm gonna take off, I'll come by and see Hanna tomorrow"

"Goodbye Spencer"

"Goodbye Caleb" Caleb watched as Spencer started to walk away, head up, shoulders back. She didn't get far before she turned back to him.

"Caleb, Hanna…she…." Caleb looked at her questioningly. "She has the dollhouse look."

"What does that mean?"

"It means she's in a….a really dark place right now okay. Just…keep an eye on her?"

"Why is that even a question? But-" before Caleb could question her about the 'dollhouse' look, she'd already disappeared down the hall. Caleb stood for a few minutes, turning the phrase over in his mind. Examining all the meanings…and he didn't like any of them.


	4. Chapter Four

Caleb was staring, and he knew it was probably incredibly creepy, but ever since his conversation with Spencer, he couldn't stop imagining her in the dollhouse. Imagining what could have happened to her in the dollhouse to give her that look in her eyes. Couldn't stop imagining what had happened to her in the past 24 hours to give her that look again. Emily had left not long after Spencer. She'd been going to stay, but Mona had convinced her to leave Hanna to her. Although Emily hadn't taken all that much convincing from what he'd heard of the conversation as he came back in to the apartment. Caleb was sure that like himself, Mona didn't want Emily around Hanna right then, not when the other girl was feeling so resentful. Caleb knew she didn't mean it, but he knew Hanna was picking up on it, and he didn't need anything else making her feel terrible. Once Emily had left, Caleb had gone searching for Hanna. Mona had wrapped her up in a blanket like a small child and settled her on the couch, with an array of foods scattered on the low table in front of her. Hanna was staring at the blank TV screen with an uncomfortable amount of intensity.

"Hanna?" Caleb said, softly so as not to startle her. Hanna flicked her eyes from the screen to his, and he felt his blood go cold at the emptiness in them. "Han, are you okay? Why don't you put the TV on?" She didn't reply. She just went back to staring at blank screen. Although he was fairly certain she was seeing something he wasn't. Like whatever had happened to her over the past 24 hours on a loop. "C'mon Han, I'll even watch that movie you like without making a joke…the one with the pink on the cover and-!"

"They all have pink covers" Hanna said in a monotone voice.

"I think Caleb means Legally Blonde, your fave movie like ever" Mona chirped as she entered the room.

"Caleb knows what Caleb means, okay?" he said. He'd been hoping to bait Hanna in to a conversation, nothing irked her more than him mocking Legally Blonde, in any way shape or form. He frequently described Legally Blonde as the "the one with the pink on the cover" and refused to say it's name. Normally she would have jumped on his comment and reamed him out for it before lecturing him about the movie and it's positive portrayal of blondes but…..nothing. He didn't even think she'd heard him properly.

"I think we're past the time for whatever it is you where trying…and failing to do" Mona whispered to him as she passed him, before settling on to the couch next to Hanna.

"I was going to sit there, Mona"

"Oh I know, I just don't care" Caleb glared at her. Before he noticed Mona side eyeing Hanna for a reaction. She hated it when they bickered, but Mona's plan hadn't worked either. Mona turned to her next plan…food, while Caleb became lost in thought.

He knew what the burns where from. What they meant, but he didn't know what else had happened to Hanna. She wouldn't talk about it, not to him, not to Aria and not to Mona. All of them had tried, and gotten nowhere. Hanna wasn't saying a word. He knew he shouldn't push her, he had to let her open up about it in her own time, but the wait was killing him. His brain was on overdrive imagining all the horrifying scenarios he could conjure up. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice Mona trying to get his attention until she threw a Twizzler at him.

"What the hell Mona?! That's perfectly good candy….." he trailed off as Mona kept looking pointedly at Hanna. Hanna was staring at the blank screen, without really seeing anything. But now her breathing had started to speed up again, almost like she was about to have a panic attack, and she kept repeating "no" over and over, sounding more panicked each time. Like she was stuck in a waking nightmare. _Shit. I dropped the ball again. Dammit Caleb._

"Mona put the movie on. NOW. It'll distract her….I hope" he said as he moved closer to Hanna.

"Han? Hanna?" no response. _Screw it._ Caleb picked her up off the couch, sat down on it, and placed her in his lap, with his arms wrapped tightly around her as she started to flail around. He started to murmur nonsense in her ear, while Mona fiddled with the DVD player. Considering how smart Mona was, she spent an awful long time trying to work out how to use it. He thought he heard her sniffle but he wasn't sure. Eventually Hanna began to calm.

"Caleb?" her voice was a whisper.

"Hanna?" he peered down at her face.

"I'm safe right?"

"I'm here aren't I? You're always safe with me, you know that. Now follow my breaths" He felt Hanna nod against his chest, felt her start to breath with him until her breathing was back to normal. He expected her to pull away but she didn't.

They sat like that for the rest of the day, with Mona next to them, watching chick flick after chick flick, anything for Hanna to focus on so she couldn't fall back in to her thoughts again. Eventually Mona had had to leave.

"I have to go, but I'll be back when I can. Something's wrong Caleb…really wrong. I mean I'm not surprised but…"

"Yeah. I know" he replied, distracted. Mona just nodded at him, and made her way out, having already said goodbye to hanna.

"You can go too you know" Hanna's voice came from the couch, where she was curled up.

"I'm good here"

"When I said you can go, I meant leave. Now"

"I know, I just chose to ignore it" he smirked. She scowled.

"Look Caleb, I'm really tired and I just want to be alone okay"

"Not okay, I'm not letting you out of my sight again. Besides….I need to talk to you"

"Didn't we already do this today?"

"I'm not wasting any more time Hanna. I spoke with Spencer. Ended things"

"Good for you"

"Hanna-"

"I'm engaged Caleb. What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to admit that you don't love that guy as much as you love me. You and I both know your reasoning for that kiss was bullshit. You love me. I know you do. And I love you" Hanna wouldn't look at him.

"I destroy everything, Caleb. Look how many times I've ruined things with us. And I will again. A or no A. I can't do it again Caleb. Every single time we argue, every single time we break up, or you walk away from me…it breaks me more and more"

"So you'll marry a guy you don't love?"

"I do love him"

"No Hanna, you don't"

"Yes. I do." she said vehemently.

"You're deluding yourself Hanna, you want someone who you think can give you a normal life, but you'll never have a normal life, not after everything you've been through. He could never begin to understand you. Whatever you have with him…it's nothing compared to what we have. And you don't destroy everything Hanna, I'm as much to blame as you are okay?"

"Everyone around me gets hurt. Because of me. It's all my fault. Emily resents me because me being here means Ali's in danger and that's my fault. You leaving me in New York, that was my fault too and-"

"No Hanna, I was stupid and immature okay, that was me. I screwed up,I never should have left you like that, I regretted it but it was too late and -" Hanna was shaking her head.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. Could you just leave please?" he noticed her hands shaking.

"No"

"Caleb"

"No Hanna. I told you. . .You"

"Because I've never heard that one before" She sniped.

"Hanna I-"

"CALEB!" she screamed at him. Caleb sat stunned. Hanna was breathing hard, tears filling her eyes.

"Oh Hanna-" Caleb rushed over to her, wrapping her in a hug, she tried to fight him, but he kept holding on until she gave in. He held her as she sobbed, he didn't know for how long. Eventually she fell asleep and Caleb smiled down at her fondly. He adjusted his hold on her, then carefully got to his feet, before carrying her in to her bedroom. He tucked her in and just gazed at her for a few minutes.

"Goodnight Hanna" he whispered, kissing her on the forehead. "I love you".

Caleb went back out to the lounge and settled down to sleep on the couch. Much as he wanted to stay close to Hanna, even he realised watching her while she slept was creepy, like that sparkling dude from that movie Hanna made him watch. It took him a while to fall asleep, all he could see was Hanna in the dollhouse. Hanna in the photo that AD sent. Hanna hanging in the bell tower. Hanna breaking down. Hanna running back through the rain to get to him, but the apartment being empty. Him gone. Her heart breaking. The images played on a loop, older memories joining in. When he broke up with her. When she found out he'd been spying for Jenna. Over and over again.

"Dammit" he punched the couch.

Hanna was wide awake in bed. She'd woken up not long after Caleb had tucked her in. Like without him there…she didn't feel safe enough to sleep. Not it wasn't _like_ that it…it was that. She stared up at the ceiling. Caleb's words repeating over and over and over. He was right. That's why she was so mad. He was right. And it wasn't fair to Jordan. She liked Jordan, but she couldn't deprive him of the chance to meet someone who cared about him as much as she cared about Caleb. She just…..she wanted to be normal. But that was never an option for her. She was scared of screwing things up with Caleb again, but she didn't have the excuse that he was happy with Spencer to argue with anymore. She couldn't keep ignoring her feelings. The entire time she'd been kept in that barn all she had wanted was Caleb. She'd wanted Caleb to hold her and protect her and make everything okay. She hadn't thought about Jordan at all. Not until Caleb had shoved that ring in her face, and that was not how she should be thinking if she was going to marry Jordan. It should have been him that she'd wanted not Caleb. She couldn't ruin Jordan's life by keeping up this engagement with A running about willing to harm anyone she cared about. If she stayed with Jordan he would get hurt. Because of her. Because of a girl he was in love with….who didn't love him back quite as much. Maybe if she'd never had to come back to Rosewood, things would have been different. But then…..she and Caleb wouldn't have been reunited.

 _Caleb….._ He was in just as much danger as Jordan would be, but unlike Jordan, Caleb knew everything. He knew what to expect, knew to be prepared. Hanna briefly wondered if she would ever be able to push Caleb far enough away that he'd be safe, but he'd been different today. He'd been….more like the old Caleb. She'd missed that Caleb. She also knew that Caleb would never, ever leave her to face A on her own. He kept telling her over and over again that he wouldn't leave her but he'd said that before and still done it. She loved Caleb. She wanted to take him back. But she found herself….not quite as trusting of him as she'd always been before. _I guess we'll have to work on that._ She thought, it took a few minutes for the thought to sink in, and once it had…she knew what she had to do. She picked her phone up from the night stand, scrolled through her contacts but hesitated before she dialled. _I can't meet him in person, if I do he'll see all the marks and he'll ask what happened and I can't tell him. But if I do this over the phone…I'll be the worst person ever._ Hanna debated with herself internally. _It's better if I stay away from him, then he'll be off A's radar. No. you where engaged, you have to do this in person._ Hanna thought about leaving Rosewood, travelling to New York, all by herself. Strangers everywhere. Any one of them could have been the person who grabbed her. Could have been the person who tortured her. She was fairly certain it hadn't been Mary Drake. The figure seemed….taller. Masculine. The thought of being alone, in New York, the city she loved so much…..made her blood run cold. Made her palms start to sweat. Made her heart rate speed up. She couldn't, she couldn't do it. She made up her mind. She snapped the bedside light on, went to Jordan's contact and hit FaceTime. She needed Caleb. She needed him right now, and she needed to let Jordan go.

He answered after a few minutes, looking strangely wide awake.

"Hanna?"

"Jordan, hey. Look we really need to talk"

"So you finally decided you want to talk to me?"

"I'm sorry, I know I've been terrible lately?"

"Only since you've been to Rosewood"

"Yeah, well it'll do that to you. Listen I'm going to be spending a lot more time here, and-" Hanna's voice cracked.

"Hanna? What's wrong?"

"I…..I need to break up with you"

"What do you mean, you need to?"

"I mean, that while I've been here I've realised that I don't feel for you the same way you feel for me and it's not fair to you. To let you marry me. You would never get to be truly happy, because-"

"Hanna, why don't you come back here and-"

"NO. No I can't. I can't leave Rosewood. I don't feel….I mean….I can't….I don't…. I-I-" Hanna felt herself start to panic.

"Whatever it is, I can fix it, I would move heaven and earth for you"

"I know and I'm so sorry, but you deserve to be with someone you deserve, and that isn't me. I was clinging on to you to try and have some sort of a normal life, but that's not an option for me and it never has been and it's not fair to keep trying to use you to get something unachievable"

"Hanna-"

"I'm a one woman wrecking ball, I destroy everything, I can't let you get caught up in that. It's not fair to you. Everyone was supposed to get what they want but I-"

"Hanna you're not making sense, don't do this, I love you"

"I don't love you" she blurted out. "I mean, I love you but I'm not….I'm…." she trailed off. Jordan's expression had changed.

"This is to do with your ex isn't it?"

"What? No"

"It is. I knew there was something between you two" he seethed.

"Jordan this wasn't supposed to-"

"Keep the ring, I don't care what you do with it"

"Jordan, at least let me explain, I-"

"Goodbye Hanna"

"Goodbye" she whispered.

 _Well that could have gone a lot better._ Hanna took her ring off and placed it on the bedside table, then wiped under her eyes. She stared at the for a few minutes…she felt a weight lifting off her shoulders. She rolled on to her back and tried to drift back to sleep, tossing and turning. It was no use, she couldn't sleep with the light on. She so desperately wanted to sleep….to fall in to nothingness. She stared at the lamp. She could do this. She was tired anyway, she'd fall asleep in no time. She was better than this, stronger than this. She took a deep breath, reached over and flicked off the lamp. Hanna lay there, eyes shut, attempting to sleep, memories of the barn clamoured to at her, she tried to force them away. Again, and again. She opened her eyes, all she could see was darkness. Surrounding her.

Closing in on her oppressively…claustrophobically. She'd been kept in the dark in that barn or whatever it was, never sure when the next blow would come. Unable to see her hand in front of her face. Doused with freezing cold water. Shocked. Hanna felt her breathing speed up. The blanket Caleb had wrapped around her so lovingly wasn't comforting anymore, it was constricting. Gasping for air, Hanna launched out of bed and blindly swatted at the wall looking for the light switch. The light blinded her, but she didn't care, it was better than the dark. She wrapped the blanket around her, her breathing calming. She curled up in the corner of the room, back to the wall, eyes on all the entrances and exits. So she could see what was coming. She thought about Caleb beyond that door, she knew he was still here, she'd seen in his eyes that he meant what he was saying. He wasn't going to leave. But hadn't he said that before and still left? She thought back over her conversation with Jordan. She'd done the right thing. She couldn't let it go on any longer, couldn't keep him in danger any longer. She knew it wasn't fair to Jordan, if she had been able to, she would have done it face to face, like she should have, but right now she didn't think she'd be able to leave her apartment, let alone the state. He could be really happy with someone else, someone who thought that he was her soul mate. She knew Caleb was her soul mate. They always found their way back to each other. He was made for her. She would never love anyone like she loved Caleb. He wanted her back, he'd spoken to Spencer, ended things. He was here, with her, making sure she was okay. But how long would it be before Hanna screwed everything up again? She wasn't the same person she was before, she wasn't sure she'd ever be. She wanted Caleb, so badly, right then. To comfort her, but she was scared to call out to him. Scared to break the silence. But she didn't have to.

"Hanna, are you okay?! I saw the light on and…." Hanna looked up at Caleb as he trailed off. He was staring at her with love, and sympathy and a swirl of emotions too fast for her to read. As she stared up at him and locked eyes with him she knew….she knew she'd take him back. She knew she made the right choice. No matter that she knew she'd screw things up again, she would do it because she loved Caleb. He made her feel safe in a world where she was never safe. He always came for her, always saved her. She knew she could never let him go. "Caleb" she whispered. He came towards her carefully, picked her up and carried her over to the bed. He placed her down, readjusting the blanket so she was snuggled inside it, then made himself comfortable, before pulling her back towards him, wrapping his arms around her. "Go back to sleep Hanna"

"But Caleb-"

"I know." They stared at each other.

"I called-"

"I know. I heard you. I was worried someone was in there with you so I listened"

"Caleb-"

"Shout at me tomorrow, you need to sleep"

"Stop cutting off my sentences!"

"Stop talking" he retorted.

"But I need to-"

"We'll fix it in the morning okay?" She nodded against his chest, before closing her eyes. It wasn't long before Hanna was asleep.

Caleb smiled down at her. She finally looked peaceful. Caleb had heard her voice, and moved from the couch to just outside her door. He'd heard her side of the conversation with Jordan and he knew she'd ended things. He should feel triumphant, but instead he felt incredibly sad that Hanna had been so damaged that the thought of leaving the apartment to go to New York had sent her in to a panic. He remembered how much she had loved the city, and he vowed to get her back there again one day. She would need to after all, when she signed Lucas's deal. Caleb would help Hanna heal. They'd take it a step at a time. He knew she'd open up to him eventually and pour out what had happened, but he could be patient until then. She'd be back to her normal self in no time, all of this a distant nightmare. They would be okay. He had his Hanna back and he was never letting her go again.


	5. Chapter Five

Caleb slowly opened his eyes, and smiled as he remembered the events of last night. Hanna had broken up with Jordan. She'd needed him, and when she had whispered his name he knew that she'd wanted him, and only him to hold her and comfort her and make her feel protected and safe. He had Hanna back. Still grinning he rolled to the side to face…an empty bed. Caleb sighed. Who was he kidding? Hanna had been through a lot and he'd heard most of her side of the conversation with Jordan. This wasn't going to be easy. One night of Hanna needing him didn't mean they'd be back together. He needed to just be there for Hanna, take care of her, let her heal. Take it slow. Caleb knew Hanna wanted him, but he also knew she had been traumatised by what had happened, and she'd been distant since then. If he knew Hanna as well as he thought he did…she had some idea that Caleb needed protecting. But he wasn't like Jordan. He knew everything. Still, he wasn't going to push her. Hanna walked in to the room wrapped in a towel. Normally Caleb would have admired the view, but he was too distracted by the bruises and burns on her arms and shoulders.

"Emily called. She and the other girls are coming over. She needs to talk to us about something" Caleb nodded, he hated how lifeless Hanna's voice had become. "You should go. Spencer…"

"Spencer knows I won't let you out of my sight"

"It's not fair to her"

"Frankly Hanna, I don't care, because I care more about you and your wellbeing right now, and Spencer knows that. She's a big girl. She can handle it" Hanna didn't look convinced and uncharacteristically just shrugged.

"I'm gonna go and get dressed. Can you let them in when they get here?" Caleb nodded and exited the bedroom to wait for the other girls to arrive. He knew Aria wouldn't be a problem, and after his conversation with Spencer, he knew she wasn't holding anything against Hanna. She might be upset, but she knew Hanna needed her right then. Emily was another matter. Emily had wanted to get Hanna back, but she'd wasted so much time. Time that Hanna had been tortured during. Caleb knew Emily loved Hanna, but she'd seemed almost resentful once or twice, that Hanna was here and Alison was not. He wanted to talk to her, because he didn't want Emily making Hanna feel worse, and he was well aware Hanna had picked up on some of Emily's looks. He didn't have to wait long before the doorbell rang and he pulled open the door to see Aria.

"Hey Caleb" she said as she breezed past him in to the apartment. "How is she?" Caleb shut the door and turned to look at her.

"She uh….I don't know. She had a couple of…episodes. I guess you could call them? I don't even know if that's the right word…" Aria nodded understandingly.

"I had a couple of those after the dollhouse" Caleb nodded, but he was distracted something Aria clearly picked up on, because she narrowed her eyes at him, but before she could say anything the doorbell went again and Caleb hustled over to open it.

Second time lucky. Emily was standing there looking impatient.

"Is everyone here yet?" She asked as she rushed inside.

"No, we're waiting on Spencer" Aria answered. Emily made an irritated noise in the back of her throat.

"She better get here soon" Aria raised her eyebrows and shared a look with Caleb. Caleb decided there was no time like the present.

"Emily. Can I talk to you?" Emily looked at him, concerned.

"Sure, is everything okay?"

"You tell me"

"What's that supposed to mean" Caleb glanced at Aria, and Aria gestured at him to go on. He figured Aria had a pretty good idea what this was about, she'd been at Spencer's after all, and she wasn't blind. Or deaf.

"It means, that Hanna made herself bait to try and help all of you, and you wasted so much time and let her suffer for longer than she needed to. Then you tried to start some sort of moral debate about handing over Alison. I understand how you feel Emily, but you don't need to take it out on Hanna. I'm the one who handed Alison over, so take it out on me"

"I don't know what you're talking about" Emily said in an incredibly unconvincing voice. Aria took over.

"Em. We get it…you…have something with Alison. But you said she killed Charlotte. You gave us the proof, and ever since Hanna's been back you've been….." Aria didn't want to say it. Surprisingly Emily finished the sentence for her.

"Resentful. I know" Emily deflated. "Can I…..can I talk to Hanna?" Caleb narrowed his eyes.

"That depends, are you gonna make her feel even more crappy than she already does?" he folded his arms across his chest, moving slightly in the direction of Hanna's bedroom door.

"No, I just….I want to apologise" Caleb studied her for a minute and then stepped aside, "She's in there" he pointed and Emily walked past him heading in the direction of the bedroom.

Caleb turned to Aria, "Well that was easier than I thought"

"Em may be focused on Ali right now, but she knows she was wrong, she just…" Caleb nodded.

"Believe me, I get it"

Hanna had dressed slowly and methodically, donning her clothes like armour. She'd opted to wear a top that showed off a lot of her arms…and back. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but as much as she wanted to feel like her old self and not hide away. She also didn't feel comfortable advertising what happened. She'd been about to grab something to wear over it, when she'd spotted the ring on her bedside table, right where she'd placed it last night. She'd actually forgotten about it. She slowly walked over to it, picking it up when she reached it. She held it in her hand and stared at it, debating. The girls would know something was really wrong if she told them she broke up with Jordan. She'd have to answer questions about Jordan and…Caleb. She'd get more pitying looks. But it would be wrong to still wear the ring…Caleb-

"Oh my God!" Hanna's thoughts cut off and she whirled around to face Emily, who was looking at her with horror. She tried to play it off.

"What?"

"Hanna your back! Are those-"

"It's nothing" Hanna said quickly, dropping the ring back on the table and grabbing the nearest jacket she saw….Caleb's. She pulled it on, and hugged herself, before turning to face Emily.

"Hanna those look like burn marks" Hanna shrugged and refused to meet Emily's eyes. Emily reached out a comforting hand and Hanna flinched involuntarily.

"Sorry" she murmured to Emily.

"It's okay Han. Did those…did they happen to you in there?" Emily asked, before shaking her head, "Stupid question. Of course they did" Hanna remained silent. "Han….I know you said no doctors, but maybe you should re-think that? They look…angry" Emily tried to lighten the mood. Hanna shrugged.

"It's fine" Hanna stared resolutely at the floor so she missed Emily's concerned face.

"Hanna….I'm sorry for how I acted…when you first got back. I wasn't mad at you, I didn't….I don't resent you being back it's just…." Emily swallowed, "Ali's in danger, and it's all my fault. I mean….there wasn't even solid proof, just that jacket and it wouldn't be the first time someone planted something to implicate someone else and now-"

"I get it Em" Hanna said gently.

"I'm really sorry Han" Emily said, close to tears. Hanna nodded, and attempted a smile. She knew Emily meant what she said, and she got where Emily was coming from…but Hanna knew there was some small part of Emily that really had resented Hanna being there.

"It's okay Em, and don't worry. We'll get Ali back" Hanna tried her best to sound reassuring. Emily slowly approached Hanna and gave her a gentle hug, and after a minute Hanna returned it cautiously.

"Do you…want to talk about it?" Emily tried. Hanna shook her head. "Are you sure? I mean….Hanna…those marks"

"I don't want to talk about it"

"But-"

"Han, you okay?" Aria poked her head in to the room and Hanna had the feeling Aria had taken a leaf from Caleb's book and had been lurking outside the door listening. She was too grateful to be mad. Aria looked between the two, but before Hanna could say anything the doorbell sounded. _Saved by the bell._

"Spencer's here!" Hanna announced and hurried past Emily and Aria and out in to the lounge.

"Give her time Em" Emily nodded.

"You saw all that…right? When you where…"

"Yeah. I did. Caleb too and I think Mona saw some of it" Emily shook her head.

"It was dark and I…I couldn't see properly, I mean she had those bruises and her lip…but I couldn't see…" Emily trailed off and wiped a tear away. "I didn't even offer to come and help you clean her up and take care of her, I just…I was too absorbed in Ali and…"

"It's okay Emily, she needed space anyway. Caleb wouldn't leave her and I think between him and me, we where smothering her enough" Emily reluctantly nodded and the pair headed out in to the lounge to greet Spencer.

Caleb had insisted on staying to hear whatever news Emily had, and he'd claimed the spot on the other side of Hanna. Spencer and Aria had sat on the other couch. He wasn't sure what kind of reaction he'd get from Spencer, she was acting indifferent towards him, and her usual self towards Hanna. When she'd arrived, while the other girls where occupied he'd approached her and to ask if she was okay, she'd replied politely and resisted the urge to be snarky, he could tell. He could see the internal struggle. She'd informed him she was fine, and then whispered that she'd told Aria and Emily that they'd broken up. He wasn't sure how much Spencer had told them of the reasoning behind the breakup, but he figured they'd worked it out for themselves after seeing how he'd been acting the past few days. Seeing as the girls hadn't treated him any differently, or Hanna as far as he could tell, he figured they'd taken Spencer's view of things. Whatever happened whenever this was over, he'd make it clear to them that he was the one to blame and not Hanna. But for now, Hanna's friends where being just that and he hoped it would stay that way. Hanna had come hurrying in to the room, and when Caleb saw her wearing his jacket….he couldn't repress a smile. It dimmed somewhat when Aria and Emily followed her out and he realised why she was wearing it. He raised a questioning eyebrow at Aria, who merely nodded.

Caleb only half listened to what Emily was saying, he was keeping an eye on Hanna who kept fiddling with her hands. She really did look adorable in his jacket, which was not a thought he should be having right then but he couldn't help it. He forced himself to focus on the conversation. Emily had been recounting her front row seat to Mary and Elliott arguing as if they knew each other very well, which was worrying. They'd spent the past few minutes debating Elliotts connection to Mary, and if he could be the male she was working with. Caleb didn't see any hint from Hanna that Elliott was the one who'd….he cut the thought off. Now was not the time to get ragey. As the debate continued the more convinced the girls became that Elliott was working with Mary. As Emily recounted seeing Alison strapped down to a table, Caleb watched Hanna very carefully. He could see the wheels turning in her head as she turned over the possibility. He wasn't sure if Hanna had any idea who had been with her at the barn. Considering her reaction to the dark last night, he had made a couple assumptions. But he couldn't be sure, not until she told him what had happened. He knew Spencer was thinking the same thing because she'd been watching Hanna for a reaction too. Hanna's quiet voice drew his attention from his thoughts.

"If it is Elliott, he's capable of doing a lot more than that" she wouldn't meet anyones gaze, and there was a faraway look in her eyes. Emily looked worried and she glanced at Hanna's back, where the worst of the visible burns where, visible if you where wearing the same top as Hanna that is.

"We need to get her away from him" So he had been right, Emily had seen. _Well, maybe now she'll stop treating Hanna like-_

"We go to Welby. We talk to someone in charge and we tell them what's going on" Hanna said decisively. _Oh hell no._

"Okay, you guys do that, I'm gonna go talk to Toby and maybe he can find a connection between Mary and Elliott" Spencer got up and was out the door as fast as possible without running. _Well that's not awkward._ Caleb thought, but at least Spencer was out the way. He turned to face the three remaining girls, and folded his arms. Ready to do battle.

"Okay, so this isn't happening" he said firmly. Aria and Emily looked between him and Hanna.

"We have to try and help Ali, okay. This is my fault, it's my fault Ali had to be turned over and if Elliott is…is…who we think he is, then Ali's in danger and we can't just leave her" said Hanna, becoming agitated.

"Then Emily and Aria can go. You don't need to"

"Yes I do, it's-"

"It's not your fault Hanna, it's mine" Caleb said firmly.

"And mine" Emily chimed in quietly.

"I'm going" Hanna said stubbornly. Caleb raised an eyebrow.

"No, you're not"

"What are you? My dad? God Caleb"

"You're not going. You're not going anywhere near Elliott, if he is working with Mary then he was the one…." Caleb trailed off, "You're not going near him again" Hanna stood up, facing off with Caleb.

"Yes. I am"

"No. You're not"

"Yes"

"No"

"Yes"

"NO HANNA" Caleb shouted. Hanna flinched. "Han, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine." she said quietly. Caleb wanted to smack himself. He looked pleadingly at Emily and Aria.

"You know, Han, you're still tired and you really should rest-"

"Not you too" she groaned at Aria.

"We just want to look out for you Han" Emily tried.

"I am coming with you. I'm fine. Everything is fine" Hanna said, voice getting higher and higher. Emily and Aria looked back at Caleb. _Seriously? That's it? Looks like I'm bad cop._ He sighed.

"We'll wait outside" Aria said, and she and Emily hurried out the front door leaving Caleb and Hanna alone.

"Hanna please. If Elliott is the one behind what happened to you then he is dangerous and he's not safe to be around"

"But it's okay for Aria and Emily to be around him?"

"No, it's not, but they weren't his personal-" He cut himself off.

"Go on. Say it" Caleb shook his head. He gently took hold of Hanna's hands.

"I already let something happen to you once, I'm not letting you walk in to another dangerous situation"

"Caleb. There's gonna be like…a million people there." Caleb knew he was being ridiculous. There would be other people there and if Elliott was the guy…then he wouldn't attempt something in front of witnesses. But he didn't want Hanna coming face to face with him, didn't want her to be broken by anything else.

"Hanna-"

"Caleb. I need to do this. I need to see if….I need to look him in the eye and see, okay?"

"Han did you…did you see….?" Hanna looked….shifty.

"Not exactly" she mumbled. He decided not to push her.

"Okay. Fine. Go. But are you sure you can handle it?" Hanna thought about it and took a deep breath. She'd been terrified at the thought of leaving the apartment and going to New York to see Jordan and it had nothing to do with the fact that she would be on her way to end things with him. But this would be different. She would be with her friends. She wouldn't be alone. She wouldn't be outside…alone. _Safety in numbers right?_

"I'm sure. Just let me change my jacket"

"No. Keep it on." Caleb smiled at her gently. He hadn't missed the way she'd wrapped herself tightly in it, like it was a safety blanket. Hanna nodded, retrieved her phone and placed it in her pocket before slowly walking over to the front door. She stood in front of it, breathing in…and then out. Caleb watched as she reached out for the door handle…and froze. She just stared at the door, her breaths coming faster and faster.

"Han?" No response, but he could see her eyes moving rapidly, watching something he couldn't see. He slowly walked towards her, "Han?" He tried again. He'd nearly reached her when she suddenly turned to him. He could see a myriad of emotions in her eyes briefly, before she shut it down.

"Will you…..will you come too?" she asked, hesitantly.

_I always felt safe around you._

Caleb smiled, reached past her and opened the door.


	6. Chapter Six

"Are you freaking insane?!" Mona screeched at him down the phone. He'd decided to call and give Mona an update on what had been happening, he figured someone should keep her in the loop. He sighed.

"No. But Hanna said she needed to do this"

"Hanna needs a lot of things, but none of them are a visit to crazy town with Dr. Creepy" she seethed. Caleb glanced through the window of the Brew to check on Hanna. The three girls had decided to stop for some much needed caffeine. He could tell Hanna was nervous being in a place with that many people, but she was trying her best not to show it. Caleb suspected Hanna making Ali her priority had as much to do with what Hanna was going through as it did with her friendship with Alison. He watched as Emily peeled off and headed in the direction of a blonde haired girl. _Interesting._

"Are you even listening to me?!" Mona raged.

"Yeah, look I gotta go, just do some digging of your own okay?" he cut off Mona's outraged cry as he ended the call. He glanced up at Hanna again, then smiling to himself, he started to type.

Hanna's phone beeped. She really hoped it wasn't Jordan or…worse. She pulled it out, unlocked the screen and read the text.

_The coffee isn't the only hot thing in the brew ;)_

She fought the smile that wanted to erupt across her face.

 _Wow, cheesy much?_ She typed one handed.

_Just wanted to make you smile. Go on. I know you want to :)_

She felt a hand on her arm and jumped, saw it was only Aria and tried to play it off.

"Are you okay?" Aria asked quietly.

"Please don't ask me that"

"Look, I don't wanna push-" Aria tried.

"And I appreciate that"

"We where all in the dollhouse, I know what you're going through" Hanna appreciated Aria trying to be there for her, really she did, but the dollhouse was nothing like what she'd been through. The dollhouse….that was all mental. This…this had been…

"It's not the same" she'd been handling the people fine, she was with her friends. But with Aria's one comment, she could feel the memories crowding in, she needed to get out, away from all these strangers.

"Um, can you just order me a latte, I'll be outside" Hanna retreated heading for Caleb, she'd meant it when she had said she always felt safe with him, and that was still true now. She'd been determined to come on this trip, to prove that she could, but the thought of being with her friends hadn't been enough. She'd needed Caleb and the sense of safety he gave her, to even make it out the door. She was proud she'd lasted that long in the Brew, but she knew that was down to the fact Caleb was watching her like a hawk through the window. She approached him at a swift pace, he must have seen her coming because he was moving to meet her. He stopped right in front of her, invading her personal space, and he gently took hold of her shoulders.

"What happened?"

"Nothing"

"Hanna" he said slowly. In that tone. The "tell me now or I'll bug you until you do" tone.

"Seriously, it's nothing, there was just…just so many people. It was hot in there" she knew it was a lame excuse, and she knew Caleb knew too. But she didn't want to appear weak. Useless. Broken. Caleb sighed, he knew pushing Hanna at this stage wasn't going to get him anywhere, he needed to give her time and wait until she was ready to talk.

"You sure you're okay right now?" Hanna nodded, and Caleb carefully pulled her in to a brief hug. He'd have liked for it to have lasted longer, but Hanna was pulling away before he was even ready to let go. But she still stayed closer to him than she needed to be. Caleb watched Aria order and collect the coffees and as she and Emily started to make their way out of the Brew, Caleb murmured to Hanna.

"You still want to do this? Not too late to back out, I'll say I have cramps or something" he tried to joke and was pleased when Hanna rolled her eyes at him and responded.

"You can't get cramps. You guys get your man-periods with all the dramatics and moodiness but none of the pain. It's not fair" Caleb laughed.

"Hey, I made chocolate runs at ridiculous times of the day _and_ night, I suffered too!" Hanna snorted. It wasn't a full laugh, but he'd take it. "Hanna, about last night…"

"Look, Caleb, I was scared okay and-"

"Do not give me the same spiel you gave me before to explain away our kiss, because both you and I know it's bullshit" Hanna narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's the truth"

"Yeah…in an alternate dimension. Not in this one" Caleb slowly slinked closer to her, until he was looking down in to her eyes and she was inches away from him. "You broke up with Jordan, and last night-"

"Last night was a moment of weakness okay. Stop making it sound like it was more than just…just a…extended hug. And that reminds me, you can't go around listening in to my conversations. If someone was in there with me I'd just freaking scream okay, not have a chat with them about….about…. _whatever"_ Caleb smirked. Hanna glared.

"It's okay Han, I know you need time and I'm willing to be patient…I'd do anything for you…" He leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Princess" Hanna flushed.

"Caleb I told you-" She was cut off by Aria and Emily returning and Caleb couldn't resist giving her a look of triumph. He'd totally won this round. He knew Hanna would freak after last night, Jordan may be safely out of harms way but he wasn't, and Caleb knew she would do her best to keep him at arms length in an attempt to keep him safe, conveniently forgetting he was already involved. Hanna really should know better by now. But Caleb meant it. He'd wait, he'd be there for her, and eventually, things would be back to the way they should have been. But for now….patience. As the girls turned and headed off to Welby, Caleb fell in to step next to Hanna, she glared and he was fairly certain she muttered something about him being a prison guard. He smiled, he loved this side of Hanna, and he loved that she was making an appearance, even after everything.

Caleb had been next to Hanna the entire time they where at Welby, he'd seen her quick look of panic when the other doctor called for Rollins to be brought to Alison's room but he couldn't tell if it was panic for their plan or at the possibility that the she was about to come face to face with her potential kidnapper. He'd stood protectively beside her when Rollins entered the room and he really hadn't liked the look Rollins had given the girls, he'd wanted to reach for Hanna's hand but he had a feeling she'd bat him away. The entire time they where in the room he'd felt like something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on what, and then Dr. Creepy, to steal Mona's name for him, had given the girls that look. If Caleb really thought about it….the looked he'd seen in Rollins' eyes? Triumph. The girls plus Caleb, had re-treated back to Hanna's apartment to wait for Spencer, and it hadn't been long until she'd arrived and been filled in on what she'd missed. Turns out she had some news of her own, predictably, Jason was blissfully ignorant of the whole Alison situation. _You'd think the guy would get off his ass and come and help his sister out._ Caleb shook his head.

"He must have known we where at the hospital and sedated Alison so she couldn't talk.

"That would explain the vibe I got, I felt like something was off…she wasn't right." Caleb joined the conversation, and they all looked at each other grimly.

"Has Toby looked in to Elliott and Mary?" Emily asked Spencer. Caleb looked over at Spencer in expectation. _Uh oh._

"Uh, no, I didn't…I didn't ask him to" Caleb mentally counted down from five, but the outburst came from Hanna rather than Emily. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Why not?!" Hanna was unusually concerned for her friend, Hanna would be all about helping her friend anyway but there was something about the way Hanna was acting…the urgency. It was nearly on par with Emily.

"Because he just got engaged! Look, I don't think we should be involving him in this anymore" _And things just went from bad to worse._ Caleb thought as he took in Emily's facial expression.

"Coffee…anyone?" the girls ignored him. None of them even looked at him so he sat back and tried not to make any sudden movements.

"Okay, that's not your call to make Spencer. Toby's the only person that can help us, I mean Ali's life is in danger and it's our fault" Caleb tried not to feel offended, after all, it wasn't like he couldn't hack websites to get any information they needed. _Or Mona._ He thought grudgingly. She hadn't come back with any updates, and she was usually a lot faster.

"No, no it's her fault. She is the one who killed Charlotte. I mean, do we all realise that the only reason we're stuck in this small town is because of Charlotte's death? That we've been on a hamster wheel, risking our lives day after day trying to figure out who it was, when all along, it was her!" Caleb found himself nodding along, until he spotted Hanna giving him the Look. He held up his hands. It was kinda true though, he had to admit. He couldn't blame her for having had enough. Although maybe part of it was to do with what had happened between them.

"Right, we don't know that for sure" Caleb glanced over to Hanna who was lost in thought, and he wasn't even sure if she was listening to the whole conversation.

"Wether or not she did it…." Hanna stopped as she struggled to find the words, or fight the memories….or both. Caleb got up from his seat and entered the front lines of this debate, coming to stand behind Hanna with his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "She doesn't deserve to be tortured" Aria turned to look at Hanna and then him when it became clear she hadn't entirely come back to the room and was staring at the table, he thought he saw tears welling in her eyes but she looked away from everyone and when she looked back she was dry eyed. He exchanged glances with the girls. Emily made to move closer to Hanna but Caleb shook his head. She debated something.

"When does Jason get back? He can get Ali out of Welby"

"He's out of the country, I don't know, he can't come back for a few days" Caleb snorted, and Spencer turned on him, but before the two could argue, Hanna spoke up decisively.

"Well that's too long. We have to get her out now" Caleb was taken aback at her tone. Sure she'd been determined to act as if things where normal, that nothing was wrong. But this was different. A different kind of determination.

"How?" Emily said, exasperated. Hanna had no answer, and he could see Hanna becoming overwhelmed by…..fear, and maybe a little helplessness for Alison. Not two of the things he ever wanted her to feel again.

"You said you saw him open a locked trunk in his bedroom right?" Aria nodded, "Well maybe there's something in there that he doesn't want anyone to see" Caleb groaned.

"Maybe whatever it is can help us figure out what he's doing"

"Oh no. NO this is not a good idea" Caleb started to protest.

"I still have a key to Ali's house" Emily ignored him. "Great" Spencer murmured and Emily went to get her key.

"You cannot be serious? He's…he's…..he's freaking creepy okay. He's clearly up to something and if he's the one who kidnapped Hanna…he's dangerous. No-one is going in to that house, God knows what he has in there"

"Exactly Caleb, everything we need to prove what he's doing could be in there" Spencer argued.

"We can't leave her in there, she's…..she's….defenceless in there. She can't fight back, she can't protect herself, she can't…can't do anything. She's just trapped in there, unable to get out, being….being…" Hanna trailed off breathing heavily.

"I don't think we're talking about Alison anymore" Aria murmured. Spencer nodded.

"Han?" Caleb said carefully. Hanna closed her eyes and focused on breathing. Spencer looked at Caleb, a question in her eyes, and he just nodded.

"Hanna, it's okay. We'll get Ali out" Spencer said reassuringly.

"There is not going to be a we" Caleb snapped. Soothingly rubbing Hanna's back. He knew she was back when she shrugged him off. Emily came back over with the key.

"Here, I have to get back to work"

"Okay, we'll let you know what we find" Aria said, pocketing the key. Hanna turned to Aria, and Caleb could see her steeling herself for something.

"I ca-"

"No" Aria, Caleb and Spencer said in unison.

"You don't have to do that Han, besides I saw where the trunk was and the key, I'll go" Aria said, making sure Hanna didn't feel like she was being relegated because she couldn't handle it. _Looks like I'm not the only who doesn't want Hanna anywhere near his…Alison's house. Alone. When he could come back any minute…._

He could see Hanna about to argue. He sighed.

"We'll take you and keep a lookout" he said before Hanna could get a word out. _At least I'll be there this time to protect Hanna._ He considered calling Mona with an update…but he didn't feel like getting shouted at for the second time that day. He already knew this was a crazily stupid plan.

Caleb refused to feel awkward. He was standing by the car with Hanna and Spencer. Spencer understandably wasn't feeling too friendly towards him. Hanna had clammed up and Caleb was just standing there contemplating how much of a jackass he'd been to cause all of this in the first place. He knew he'd never be able to make it up to Hanna, he'd realised that when he realised a part of him had wanted to hurt her..had known she'd never be okay with he and Spencer dating. But he'd done it anyway. But he was going to try, starting by taking damn good care of Hanna. He was on alert for Rollins, but he figured he may as well use the time to try and fix things with Spencer. Make things less…awkward. If that was even possible.

"Spence-"

"No. Don't say a word. I'm riding out the awkwardness, speaking will make it worse. I will smack you if you try and be all….Caleb"

"Be all Caleb?" He raised an eyebrow.

"With all the apologising and the intense guilt. We really don't need to go over everything again" Caleb noticed Hanna watching the exchange.

"Well…..tension broken I guess?" Caleb chuckled. Spencer looked like she was fighting it but she ended up smiling anyway. Spencer also noticed Hanna watching the exchange. She whispered to him.

"So, you and Hanna?"

"You really want to go there?"

"She's my friend and she…needs you right now" Caleb smiled.

"You know Hanna….stubborn" they both finished at the same time, "She's….she's dealing with a lot and she wants to keep everyone safe"

"Including you?"

"Yeah, including me, so she's trying to keep me away"

"I'm sure it won't last for long, she needs you Caleb, she knows that" Caleb nodded.

"I'm just trying to take care of her. To make up for everything and to get her to…to trust me again"

"Trust you?"

"I told her I wouldn't let her down and…I did. I failed to keep her safe"

"That wasn't your fault and she knows that" Spencer was quick to object. Caleb just shrugged.

"I'm just trying to…win her back I guess. I'm being patient"

"How's that working out for ya?"

"I can handle it" he laughed. "I just…I want her to be okay you know? Eventually she'll….she'll come back to me, but right now she can't" Caleb sad sadly. Before Spencer could reply, Hanna interrupted.

"Rollins" she said, and Caleb heard the crunch of tires as a car started to come in to view. Hanna started to walk towards the car. Caleb failed to grab her and instead kept pace with her.

"What are you doing? I said keep lookout, not engage creepy doctor guy"

"I have to know if it was him…I have to" she said quietly.

"Hanna…." but they where already at his car. Caleb moved closer to her and stared Rollins down as he exited his car. Spencer coming up on Hanna's other side after, presumably, texting Aria a warning. Rollins exited the car, and approached them, hands in pockets. Completely at ease. He sneered at Caleb and Caleb resisted the urge to punch him when his gaze passed over Hanna.

"Your friends made quite a spectacle of themselves today" he addressed Spencer.

"I just think it's so amazing how much better Alison's gotten over night" Spencer said, stressing the last part. Making clear her skepticism.

"I'm doing all I can for her" Caleb wasn't buying it.

"Are you" Caleb repressed a groan, _Don't draw his attention Hanna,_ "Because Ali called us…and she's convinced someone at Welby's trying to hurt her" Caleb shuffled even closer, daring Rollins to try something. Although he was proud of Hanna for facing her possible kidnapper and standing her ground.

"Part of her illness is paranoia. She thinks everyone is out to harm her" Caleb snorted, and felt Hanna dig him in the ribs, he looked at her placatingly. He couldn't help it. The guy had some serious balls.

"It's not paranoia if it's real"

"I want you guys to stop visiting Alison, you're disturbing her" _And you're disturbing me._ Caleb thought.

"And what about what she wants?" Rollins turned fully to face Hanna, and Caleb bristled. Rollins entire demeanour had changed, and Caleb did not like the full force of that stare being directed at Hanna. He saw Spencer out of the corner of his eye moving closer to Hanna too.

"If you keep pushing, I promise….it'll be detrimental to her health" That was a definite threat. They all knew it. The bastard was almost smiling as he stared them down. Rollins gaze turned back to Hanna and Caleb saw something in his eyes that made him want to rage and beat the guy to within an inch of his life. He looked at Hanna…with a familiarity that he hadn't before. Before Hanna had been kidnapped. Caleb looked in to his eyes and he knew Rollins was the one. He balled his fists, but before he could fly at the guy, he could feel Hanna next to him. She was shaking. She was trying to hide it from Rollins, but Caleb was close enough to tell. Hanna had also made eye contact with Rollins and he was giving her a look….a look that had obviously made her come to the same realisation as him. She knew and she was terrified of this guy. Like she hadn't been before. Caleb threw his feelings to the side, and grabbed Hanna's hand, locking their fingers together. They stared him down together until he turned and went in to the house. As soon as he was out of sight, Hanna started to lose control. Her shaking became more obvious, her breaths where coming hard and fast. He wrapped his arm around her waist and quickly started to lead her towards the car, trying his best to soothe her, but she wasn't with him, she was back in the barn. He hadn't realised Spencer was still with them until they reached the car and she unlocked the doors. Caleb threw open the back door, and sat down on the seat, pulling Hanna down on to his lap she was murmuring "please stop" over and over. As he brought his arms around her to cradle her to his chest, she started to struggle against him, her murmuring getting louder and louder.

"Han, it's me" she kept struggling. He tightened his arms around her to try to keep her from hurting herself or him. "Hanna" he tried again.

"Caleb" she started to cry as she repeated his name.

"I'm here, Han" but she just carried on and he realised she couldn't see or hear him right then. She was trapped in her own mind. He couldn't help but wonder…if she was reliving something from her kidnapping…did that mean she'd been crying for him? Crying for him to come and rescue her…but he never did. He looked up helplessly at the front seat where Spencer had sat down, and met her gaze. He hadn't seen Spencer this worried in a long time.

"What do I do?" Caleb panicked. Spencer thought for a minute.

"Keep talking to her, tell her a story or something. If you keep talking she might…." Spencer trailed off as he immediately turned and whispered in Hanna's ear. Telling her all about how they'd first met, their first night together. She slowly calmed down.

"Hanna?" Spencer asked gently.

"Spence?" Hanna realised she was sitting on Caleb and scooted off him, and as close to the other door as possible.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Spencer questioned. Caleb glared at her, and she held her hands up.

"Nothing. I'm fine" Hanna said, as if it was automatic. She wrapped her arms around herself and stared out the window. "Shouldn't Aria be back by now?"

Spencer gave her a long look. Caleb spotted the small girl coming towards the car.

"There she is" Caleb pointed out to Hanna, and Hanna relaxed a little bit. Hanna was in the seat next to him, but the distance felt more than that, and it killed Caleb to sit there, not touching her. Not holding her. But he sensed that she really didn't want human contact right then, not with anyone, especially him.

"Hey guys, I-" Aria looked at the three in the car. "What happened?" she asked. No-one answered. "Okaaaay then."

Caleb looked at Hanna, huddled against the door, he would have to tell Mona about this. It wasn't going to be pleasant.


	7. Chapter Seven

"I told you. I TOLD YOU. But no, you thought it was a good idea to take Hanna to a mental hospital and get all up close and personal with the creepy doctor who may or may not have kidnapped and TORTURED HER" Mona screamed the last part and Caleb had to hold the phone away from his ear. He looked upwards, praying for patience.

"This wasn't at Welby"

"I know, because you're such an IDIOT that you decided to take her to creepy HQ. WHAT THE HELL MADE YOU THINK THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA!?"

"Mona, it was the only way to avoid her going off on her own. You didn't see her, she would have. Either to go and search the house herself or to help Aria do it. At least this way, I was there and she was outside that damn house" Mona swore. A lot. Caleb had to wince.

"You're missing the point Mona. It was him"

"Yes. It was him. And Hanna had a freak out way worse than the one from yesterday, congratulations"

"Mona-"

"Honestly Caleb, you are such-"

"An idiot yeah I know. But I didn't call to chat about that"

"No you called to tell me you let Hanna get even more traumatised" Mona snapped. _She's right._ Caleb had been beating himself up about it ever since, but he couldn't risk Hanna going off on her own to do it and something bad happening to her because he wasn't careful enough. "I'm sorry Caleb. I hope you heard that the first time because I won't be repeating it. Ever." she sighed. "I know it wasn't your fault okay, I'm just worried"

"Me too" he said quietly. "Did you find anything?"

"Not yet" she sounded frustrated. "I'm taking a break and then I'm going to try something else, I'll call you when I have news. Or when I feel my sixth sense for your stupidity start to play up" She hung up.

"Bye Mona. Love our chats" he said sarcastically.

He walked back in to the Hastings's kitchen where the girls where studying the photos Aria had taken. Except they where no longer studying the photos, they where all standing in some kind of…well..stand off.

"What's going on?" Caleb asked Hanna as he walked towards her.

"We saw Rollins credit card statements, we might have a lead, we might be able to find out more about Rollins and his connection to Mary" Aria replied. Caleb looked at Hanna. She was staring at the screen as Spencer was clicking through the photos. Neither girl looked inclined for whatever road trip Aria had planned.

"Come on guys, I can't go on my own" Aria looked at Hanna and Spencer expectantly and they stood in silence for a few minutes.

"I can't" Hanna said quietly.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I mean I can't"

"Hanna-"

"No. I can't. I can't leave. I can't go out there, I can't"

"Han, what do you mean?" Aria asked gently.

"I can't go out there. I can't. Not when he's out there"

"Who?"

"Rollins. He's out there. He….he could be anywhere he could be watching and he could…he could be waiting to get me again. He could be. I'm not going out there. Not when he's…when he's out there. He could be anywhere."

"Han you'll be with me, it'll be fine, I won't let him get to you" Aria said reassuringly but Hanna wasn't listening.

"I can't…I can't go, his family, if it's really his family…I can't go there. They could be like him. They could tell him, and then he could come and..and….I can't. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry but I can't" Hanna's voice became steadily more panicked. Caleb moved to her side.

"Han, I can go with you?"

"No. No I can't leave Caleb. I can't. I don't want to." Spencer and Aria watched wide eyed as Caleb put his arms around an incredibly distressed Hanna. "Don't make me Caleb" she whispered. He stroked her hair then looked at the girls.

"I'm taking her home. You two will have to do this without her"

"But-" Aria started.

"No" He leaned towards the other two girls and whispered, "It took a lot for her just to go to Welby, she…"

"She what?"

"I heard her on the phone, talking to Jordan, she….she freaked when he obviously suggested she come to New York"

"She's scared to leave Rosewood?" Aria asked with concern.

"Scared to be outside in general, more like. She only managed it earlier because.." he trailed off as he looked at Spencer.

"Because what?" Spencer narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing. She was just concerned about Alison and determined to help her friend, but after that run in with Rollins…" Spencer looked at him, and he figured she'd put two and two together, from the look she was giving him.

"Fine. I'll go with Aria you….you take care of Hanna" Caleb nodded.

"C'mon Han, we're going home" she nodded, sniffling and Caleb followed her to the door. Spencer grabbed him before he could leave.

"She's not….she's not wearing her ring, and you said she called Jordan….did she…?" Spencer and Aria looked at him expectantly.

"Look I think you guys know the answer to that. If you want details you'll have to wait for Hanna to be ready to tell you" both girls nodded and Caleb exited the house to find Hanna already in the car, arms wrapped around herself. He opened the drivers side door and settled himself in.

"Do you want me to call Mona?" Hanna shook her head.

"I just want to go home" Caleb nodded and threw the car in to gear.

Hanna was sitting on the couch, wrapped in her blanket, and mindlessly flicking through tv channels. He'd offered to get food on the way home but she'd said she wasn't hungry. She hadn't really eaten much since she'd been back and he couldn't really blame her. There was still a tonne of junk food piled on the table from Mona's shopping trip the other day, and he moved some of it closer so she could reach it if she changed her mind. Caleb was settled on the other side of the couch, close, but not too close. Hanna had been distant since the events at Spencer's house and Caleb wasn't really sure what to do. He wanted to help her, but he didn't know how. He spent so much time watching her, he felt like he'd achieved ultimate creeper status. But it was all he could do. Watch her…make sure she was safe. Make sure no-one was grabbing her out of secret floor hatches and dragging her off.

"Stop staring at me" Hanna mumbled.

"I can't"

"Why not?"

"Because"

"Because… _what"_

"Because….you're just very stare-able" Hanna snorted.

"That's not even a word"

"It is now"

"It can't just suddenly be a word, just because you say it is, you're not the…dictionary guy or whatever" Caleb just smiled at her. "What?"

"Nothing. Just happy to see you being…you" he smiled even bigger when she rolled her eyes and muttered something about him being an idiot. He shook his head.

"So, what do you wanna watch? We got….some superheroes, some horrendously pink DVD's, Harry Potter, Disney…." he trailed off looking up in Hanna's direction. She was staring at him.

"Now who's got a staring problem?"

"You don't have to do this you know. Sit here with me, watch movies…"

"But I want to" he said casually, selecting a DVD at random and putting the disc in the player, before turning back to Hanna.

"But you don't have to" she repeated. He sighed.

"Hanna. Can we skip the pushing me away part? I love you. You love me. We're both free agents now. There is nothing stopping us from being together"

"Yes there is Caleb. There always is" she muttered the last part.

"What do you mean Han?"

"I mean, there is always an A. There is always someone trying to screw with me, and completely not afraid to drag you in to it."

"I don't care. I never have. I just care about keeping you safe"

"Well I care about keeping you safe Caleb. I won't let you or anyone else get hurt because of me" Caleb beamed. "What are you smiling about?!"

"I'm smiling because you just admitted you care about me, so now, whenever you try to tell me that what's going on between us is just a "moment of weakness" or whatever, you and I can remember this moment and-"

"God Caleb, stop. Yes I care about you, I love you. So what?" Caleb frowned.

"Hanna-"

"No. Just no. I can't do this with you again Caleb. I can't. I screw everything up every single time. How many times have we broken up because of me or A? How many times have I hurt you? It'll just happen again and again and again"

"No it won't Hanna. After everything we've been through…it won't. I love you. I was stupid and immature in New York, but I'm different now. All I care about is being with you. No matter what. I will never leave you again"

"Until you do. Because of something I've done, or A has done or whatever. It always happens with us Caleb. Always."

"But this time it won't"

"How do you know?"

"Because I am never letting you go again, I swear" he said sincerely. They stared in to each others eyes.

"Caleb.." _This is it, everything is finally going to be right._ Hanna glanced away, towards the TV screen. She did a double take and then stared. Caleb followed her line of sight.

"Han? What is it?" she was staring at the screen, which was currently showing some programme about farming. There was a farmer on screen, using some sort of electrical cattle prod thing to move his cows or…whatever. Caleb had no idea about farming, and he wasn't sure why Hanna had become so fixated with the show. As Caleb watched Hanna's entire facial expression gradually changed, horror….fear….terror…he could see all of it at once. He glanced up at the screen. The farmer was still using the weird electrical prod thing on his cattle. He glanced back at Hanna. She hadn't moved. He wasn't even sure if she was breathing.

"Hanna…what's wrong?" silence. "Hanna please, answer me" Hanna shook her head slightly but didn't take her eyes of the screen.

"That's what he used on me" she got out. Caleb narrowed his eyes.

"A cattle prod?" Caleb ground out. _So that's what he used to make those electrical burns. He doused her in water and then he used that on her._ Caleb clenched his fists, feeling rage like he'd never felt before building up. "I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna go over to that house, and I'm gonna use his freaky medical tools on him and I'm gonna kill him" Caleb said in a low, deadly voice. Hanna's eyes started to glisten, and she hurriedly started to wipe them.

"It's fine. I'm fine" she said in a shaky voice, and Caleb felt all his rage drain away momentarily, in the face of Hanna's tears. Caleb reached over and pulled her tightly agains his chest, one hand around her waist, one on the back of her head, stroking her hair. After a minute, he felt her arms go around his waist. He took a moment to revel in the embrace.

"I'm broken Caleb" she said softly. He wasn't sure if she was continuing their earlier conversation or just making a statement.

"I don't care"

"You should"

"But I don't" he said, holding her tighter.

"Why?"

"Because I love you. I will do whatever it takes to help you heal Hanna" He felt her tears start to seep through his shirt.

"I love you" she whispered, "But-"

"No buts. We'll figure things out, okay" He felt her nod agains his chest. "For right now, we'll just sit here, and we'll watch…The Little Mermaid" Caleb tried and failed to hold in a sigh. Hanna made a sound that could have been a giggle. He pressed a button on the remote and the screen changed to the DVD menu. He pressed play, praying he'd be able to stay awake.


	8. Chapter Eight

Caleb had fallen asleep on the third movie in to their impromptu Disney marathon, he still had a tight hold on Hanna, and she was perfectly fine snuggled against his chest. She knew she shouldn't be allowing this. Caleb loved her when she was her bright, happy self. She couldn't believe that after everything that had happened between them…New York…Spencer….he'd love this broken, fragile version of herself. But here he was, and he'd been by her side ever since she'd gotten back. She didn't want Caleb to get hurt, wanted to keep him far away from the sphere of her destruction, but she just couldn't stay away from him. Whenever she felt overwhelmed, whenever she had a flashback he was there, helping her through it. Comforting her. Making her feel safe again. She'd only been able to leave the house earlier because he was there, but that hadn't lasted all that long. It wasn't fair to give Caleb what he wanted, to get back together with him, when she was so broken she couldn't even leave the apartment for an entire day. When she couldn't even attempt to leave the town. After everything…he deserved more. More than what she was now. She knew he didn't care, but she just…she couldn't do that to him. She should stop letting him do this, letting him comfort her but she just couldn't. She didn't know what to do. Her phone vibrated. She shifted a little to grab it and answer before it woke up Caleb. It was Aria.

"Hanna?"

"Hey what's up?"

"We got an S.O.S from Ali, Rollins is taking her somewhere, we can track them, we're about to head out now we just wanted to let you know and we'll fill you in on what we all found out tomorrow okay?"

"Okay…." Hanna trailed off. "Wait" She could do this. She could show Caleb, show the others she wasn't weak…she wasn't broken. She could do this one thing. She'd be with the other girls. She could face Rollins. "I'm coming with you. Where are you?"

"We're at Spencer's, listen Han, are you-"

"I'll pick you up in ten" she hung up before she could back out. Hanna carefully slid out of Caleb's grasp and grabbed her jacket…his jacket. It was like an added layer of protection, like armour. She quietly grabbed her keys and headed for the door, shoes in hand. She paused in front of the door.

 _I can do this. I can do this. I'll be with the girls, they'll keep me safe. They won't let anything happen to me. I have to show them that I'm not completely broken. That I can still help them, that I can still help Alison. I have to face him sometime right? It won't be that bad. We'll be in the car, I can stay in the car if I have to, but I have to go out that door right now…on my own….and get the girls. I'll just be the driver. Sure Caleb will be upset when he finds out, but it'll be fine. I'll explain. Besides, if I wake Caleb and bring him, he'll probably kill Rollins and then he'll get in to a load of trouble….I have to do this myself. Ali's the one who needs help right now, she needs it and if we don't help her….he could kill her, or …or…something worse._ She saw herself screaming and crying for him to stop as he shocked her again and again, in her minds eye. _There are things worse than death. I can't let Ali suffer when I can help her. I can't. I have to help her, help her so she won't…so she won't end up like me. I have to do this for her. Be strong for her. For my friend. I can do this._ Her hand was shaking but she managed to open the door and quietly slip out. Her hand continued to shake as she made it all the way down and outside. She stood on the threshold of the darkness and took a deep breath. She could see her car. It was right there. She continued to take some breaths, like Caleb had with her. She looked up and down the street, and didn't see a single person. She pressed the unlock button on her key fob. Heard the click and saw the lights flash as it unlocked. Taking another deep breath, she sprinted for her car, threw open the door, and threw herself in, slamming the door behind her and hitting the lock button, locking herself in the car. Breathing hard she sat there, trying to calm herself down. _I'm wasting time. I'm wasting time and Alison needs us. We need to save her….save her like they didn't save me._ She shakily put the keys in the ignition and threw the car in to gear, peeling away from her apartment building and heading to Spencer's.

When she arrived at Spencer's the girls where waiting outside. Aria took the passenger seat, Emily and Spencer the back seats. Emily passed her phone to Aria without comment, so Aria could navigate. Aria looked at Hanna.

"Han, are you-"

"Don't ask me if I'm sure, just tell me where I need to go. We're wasting time" Aria nodded, and then looked down at the phone as Hanna accelerated and sped away from Spencer's house. Hanna was so busy concentrating on driving and not the way her fingers where shaking on the wheel, unless she gripped it really tight, or her swirling thoughts and the panic building in her chest, that she had no idea how long they'd been driving when Aria said, "He's heading towards the lake, there's a shortcut" Aria peered out of the window, "Take a right…..here!"

Hanna did as instructed and they pulled on to a road lined with forest, pressing in on either side. Hanna ignored the voice in her head telling her it was super creepy. She didn't need to add to her building panic by admiring the terrifying scenery. A short while later, Emily's phone lost signal.

"What do I do?" Hanna said, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Just keep driving in this direction" Spencer decided, as Aria handed Emily her phone back to fiddle with and try to get working again. Hanna swallowed hard. She was trying her hardest to keep the panic at bay. _Maybe this wasn't the best idea. Maybe I should have stayed at home, curled up with Caleb. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to do something completely stupid. These roads are quiet, there's no-ones else around what are we going to do when we catch up?_ Hanna subtly altered her breathing, trying to keep it steady. She barely heard Emily mention she had bars back. She did hear Spencer ominously point out that Rollins and Ali where only half a mile ahead. _Half a mile and then he'll be right there. He's stopped, we'll have to face him….I'll have to face him. Half a mile. It's so dark, there's not much light, all these trees….it's just the headlights._ Hanna felt the darkness imposing on her. She focused back on her breathing and was so intent on it that she nearly missed the girl in the white hospital gown go sprinting across the road, not far from the car. She didn't miss Rollins when he followed not far behind. It was like everything went in to slow motion. Rollins turned and Hanna swore he stared directly at her. She could feel his eyes boring in to her. She felt her breathing pick up. Heard her own screams in her head, heard the buzzing of the cattle prod, the sound it made as it struck her wet skin. She infinitesimally increased the pressure on the accelerator. The other girls started to scream, she might have been too. She wasn't sure. As Rollins came closer and closer Hanna moved her foot over to the brake and stamped down on it hard. She couldn't kill him, she couldn't do it. She couldn't kill another person no matter what they'd done to her. Besides they needed answers.

But it was too late. The car hit with a thud. Glass smashed. Hanna shot forward in her seat, her head connecting with something. As she fell back against her seat, she brought her hands up to push her hair out of her face….and then she looked up and immediately she tried to scream…but no sound came out. It couldn't, her throat had started to close as soon as she saw what was right in front of her. She brought her hands back down to the wheel needing something to grab on to, one hand briefly coming to her mouth shakily. She wasn't sure why. To try to stop herself from throwing up as the nausea rolled over her? Reflex? She felt her entire body start to shake and she couldn't take her eyes away from what was right in front of her. She pressed herself as far back as she could in her seat hands clenching the wheel, trying to stop the shaking. She stared in to the wide, open, eyes of Elliott Rollins. He stared back. He had to. Because he was dead. She had killed him. She had killed another person, taken a human life. It had been an accident. Hadn't it? It had. She'd tried to break. She had. But he was too close. She could feel blood on her face but she wasn't sure if it was hers or his, she prayed it was hers because if it was his…if his blood was oozing down her face….she would lose her mind. She couldn't look away, she felt tears filling her eyes. She had killed Rollins. He'd tortured her. Broken her. Made Ali think she was crazy….and she'd killed him. She felt relief that he wouldn't be able to hurt her again, she even felt a small slice of satisfaction. But predominantly, she felt awful for taking a life. It didn't matter what he'd done to her…she had killed him. She wished she had stayed on the couch wrapped up in Caleb's arms, safe. Protected. But she'd wanted to prove to him she wasn't broken…..but all she'd done was damage herself even more. She knew his dead eyes, the blood oozing out of his mouth…it would haunt her. He would haunt her. Even dead he would always be with her, always be a shadow over her. _What have I done?_

Caleb woke up on the couch, sore from the position he'd been sleeping in. It took him a few moments to realise he was alone. Hanna's blanket was draped over him, but she wasn't in his arms and by his side anymore. The place she had occupied was cold.

"Hanna?" He called out. No response. _She can't have gone far…she couldn't._ His phone buzzed, alerting him to an incoming text. He unlocked the screen and saw Mona's name, frowning, he opened the text.

_I've got something._

He knew he should reply immediately, set up a meeting or just grill her over the phone, but the flat was silent. And he was worried. So he locked his phone and threw it carelessly down on to the couch. Caleb started to walk from room to room, looking for Hanna. _Bathroom…no. Kitchen…..no. Bedroom…no._ He started to panic, and without thinking threw open the doors of Hanna's wardrobe. There was no Hanna crouching amongst her shoes. Nor was she in any other small, enclosed space in the apartment. He'd needed to check. He knew she wouldn't be in any of those places, but he'd needed to check after not finding her in any of the rooms. Needed to delay the panic. Needed to make sure he'd checked every single square foot of the apartment. He needed to find Hanna, safe and sound, curled up in bed maybe or making tea or something. But he didn't. Hanna wasn't here. She wasn't in the apartment. She'd either left of her own accord, or she'd been taken. But if she'd been taken, he would have heard a struggle which meant….she left of her own accord. He searched the apartment again but didn't find a note. _She probably thought she'd be back before I woke up. So maybe she's just gone to the store or….don't be stupid. She wouldn't have left the apartment on her own at night to go to the freaking store. She wouldn't have been able to. Maybe if she was with her friends…maybe then she might have been able to do it. That's it, she has to be with the other girls. But why?_ Caleb tried not to feel hurt that she'd managed without him. He liked being needed by her, even if he didn't like why she needed him. It didn't matter to Caleb if she was with the other girls. Hanna was out there, at night, in the dark. _She doesn't like the dark, the dark scares her. The girls don't know that._ Caleb had no idea why the girls and Hanna would be out and about at this time of the night…or morning. Something had to be wrong. Caleb started to panic, all he could see was Hanna out there in the dark without him, scared and needing him. If he wasn't with her, he couldn't protect her, what if something bad happened to her again and he wasn't there to stop it? Wasn't there to protect her? He'd failed her again. He took out his cell and started to call her…but she didn't pick up. He started to panic even more when he noticed her keys where gone. _Where are you Hanna?!_


	9. Chapter Nine

Hanna sat in the car, staring in to Rollins dead eyes, she was barely breathing. Couldn't take her eyes off of his. She wasn't aware of anything going on around her, all she could see was his eyes. All she could hear was the glass smashing. Aria was shaking her arm. Hanna knew she should turn to look at Aria, look away but she couldn't. Aria's voice finally filtered through her brain.

"Han? Han we need to move his body" Hanna didn't respond she just kept staring at Rollins. _What did I do? What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?_ she kept repeating the thought to herself.

"What was that Han?" Hanna realised she must have been murmuring out loud, rather than internally and stopped immediately. Her vision was tunnelled down to Rollins eyes. Staring. Seeing nothing. She knew they where seeing nothing but it was like he was looking in to her soul. Looking in to her.

"Guys Hanna's not going to be able to help, we need to move the body we need to…..to…."

"To what Aria?" Emily shrieked.

"We need to bury it" Spencer said decisively. "Bury it here and then…then…." Spencer paused, "Just….just deal with the body first" Car doors opened. Spencer and Emily exiting the car in a rush. _Guess they can't stand to be in the car with…him….it._ Hanna saw a shadow pass in front of the headlights. _Alison._ Hanna was staring in to Rollins eyes but she could see Alison in her peripheral as she moved towards Rollins. Hanna was sure she was as entranced as Hanna. Unable to look away. He…..it…had been her husband after all. _Oh God….I….I killed Ali's husband…she loved him and I killed him. She'll never forgive me for this…she'll…._

Voices filtered through again.

"Ali….maybe you should sit down?" Emily asked. She saw in her peripheral as Emily led Alison to the side of the car and sat her down. Hanna swallowed. She felt like she might be sick…but she didn't have anything in her stomach to throw up. She felt an ache start in her hands…maybe they'd been aching for a while. She couldn't seem to let go of the wheel. Couldn't stop clutching it. Anchoring herself.

"How are we going to do this?" Emily.

"I don't know….I guess…I guess we just pull?" Spencer.

"Hanna….Hanna they're going to move the body and I need to help them but you need to move okay?" Hanna couldn't respond. It was like she'd lost her voice. Like her mouth was glued shut. She saw everything reflected in his eyes. Every single thing he'd done to her in the barn. Hitting him. Again and again. A small part of her wanted Caleb. Wanted his comfort but she pushed it down. Caleb couldn't be anywhere near this. Voices kept filtering through and everything was muffled. She felt the presence next to her leave as Aria got out the car. She was alone with him…..it. It. _It's dead…it's not a he anymore…it's not a person….it's…it's dead._ She was alone in the car but she didn't feel alone. She could feel his blood cooling on her face. _Like it must be cooling in his body_ , she thought morbidly.

"Guys, she's not responding to anything, I don't….I don't know if we should move her?"

"I don't…I don't know Aria. If she won't move just…just leave her" Spencer was frustrated. Hanna had given her another mess to clean up. She'd made trouble for everyone. Screwing things up just like she always did.

"It's really starting to freak me out guys, what if….what do we do?" Aria, sounding worried.

"Like Spencer said, we move the body. We can't make Hanna move…" Emily. Aria appeared at her window moments later.

"Han…we're going to move him now…" Aria trailed off. The next thing Hanna was aware of was Aria's hand touching hers. Hanna ripped her hands off the wheel and away from Aria. She put them in her lap, clasping them together.

"Han" Aria tried again. Heard her moving around the car.

"Okay….grab hold…just…anywhere. We need to be careful. Ready?" Spencer instructed. Hanna could hear the sounds of glass shifting, tinkling. Such a pretty sound for such an ugly scene. As Hanna stared, more blood slowly started to drip down from…it….on to the wheel….on to…her. Hanna felt her breaths go shallow. She wanted it off of her. She wanted it off now. But she couldn't move. Couldn't do anything but stare…maintaining eye contact as the body was pulled backwards, out of the window. Glass raining down. Then she lost sight of it as it hit the ground with a thump. She flinched.

"Someone should stay with her" Aria insisted.

"No, it's going to take all three of us to carry him over there and to dig….we need to do this fast in case anyone comes along, the more of us that dig the faster this will go" Spencer had her bossy voice on.

"Ali's there…sort of" Emily said. Hanna doubted Ali was any more present in things than she was. Aria protested some more, but ended up giving in to Spencer's snapping. She heard their voices fade as they carried it away. The body may be gone but Hanna could still see it…as if it was still there.

Hanna still wasn't answering her phone and Caleb was about to lose his mind. It had been god knows how long and she wasn't answering, and she still hadn't come home. Caleb was praying she was with one of the others and not alone and scared and freaking out. He couldn't understand why she had left the apartment. Caleb had panicked briefly thinking she'd been taking, but he'd gone around checking every square inch of the apartment and there was no sign of the struggle Hanna would have put up if she'd been taken. Besides he would have woken up. _I would have. If Hanna had been in trouble I would have heard or known and woken up…so she must be fine. She probably wanted to see one of the girls….talk about….about..whatever and she probably wanted to be brave and leave by herself without me helping her._ Caleb sat on the couch, foot tapping. He got up and paced. He hovered over Hanna's number on his phone, but then scrolled a bit further down.

"Caleb. I wasn't with Hanna 4 minutes ago, and I'm still not with her now. I told you. I don't know where she is" Mona snapped.

"I know…I just….I thought I'd check in case"

"Oh for Gods sake. She's probably with Aria. Have you called her?"

"Yes…she didn't answer. None of them are answering"

"Caleb. This whole protective thing would be adorable if you weren't acting like Hanna is your teenage daughter out too late on a school night"

"Mona you know-"

"I know. You told me. And you know Hanna. You know she would want to prove to herself that she could do it. She's fine Caleb"

"You don't know that" He snapped.

"Caleb…."

"No. It's fine. I'm gonna go in case she calls" Caleb hung up and resumed his pacing, picking up Hanna's blanket as he passed it and hugging it to himself. _She's fine. She has to be._ He figured if he repeated it enough he'd believe it.

Hanna sat in the car, staring out of the hole in the windshield that was left by Rollins body. The girls where over in the clearing digging his grave, ready to bury him. Hanna thought she should help, he did awful things to her, things that haunted her but she felt like she owed it to him to give him a proper burial or something. Or maybe she just wanted to make sure he was actually dead. Either way, no matter what she should be doing, or felt like she should be doing…she still couldn't move. It was like she was glued to her car seat. The blood on her face had cooled completely, but it felt like it was burning her. She just sat, staring out of the hole, seeing Rollins head come through her windshield again and again and again. Seeing all the things he did to her. She was shaking but she wasn't sure if it was with cold or something else. She felt like she'd never go back to being the old Hanna. The happy Hanna. Killing someone…it had changed something in her and she thought she would never be the same again. She was a murderer. She was broken. She was damaged. She….she had been changed. She didn't know what she was going to do, didn't know what Spencer had planned or if Spencer had a plan. She could hear them arguing…Emily freaking out. She had to do something…she had to…she slowly reached for her phone. Caleb had been calling her, probably freaking out because he didn't know where she was. She pulled up the number…and dialled. She tried to keep her voice steady.

"I need you, I did something….something awful. Please come" she said before hanging up and texting the same number a pin drop of her location. She sat and waited, she could hear Spencer snapping at Emily and Aria. It was like she was underwater and it was all coming from very far away. She was numb. She could see the forest, and the road but there was an overlay….like her memories where being projected on to it. Barn. Windshield. Barn. Windshield. Barn. Windshield. There was one person who could help. One person who'd know what to do and she prayed they'd come quickly.

She heard the car before she saw it. Heard the girls freeze and then come rushing to the road. She just sat there. Waiting. A car door slammed. Rushing footsteps…and then her door was pulled open and a familiar scent wafted in. Hanna breathed out and tears started to slide down her face.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Spencer snapped.

"Hanna called me but I was already on my way here."

"What do you mean you where already on your way here?" Spencer asked suspiciously.

"Caleb asked me to do some digging in to Rollins. I started trailing him." Hanna closed her eyes. _Dammit Caleb._ "I put a GPS tracker in his car as a precaution after everything that's happened. I saw it start driving to the woods tonight and I followed to check it out…I had a bad feeling. Then the next thing I know, Hanna's calling me telling me she did something awful and she needs me…and here we are. Now will someone tell me what the hell happened here?" Mona snapped the question, at the same time trying to see if Hanna was okay, if the blood was hers.

"I killed him" Hanna said quietly.

"Killed who?"

"Rollins. It was him….in the barn, it was him and he ran out in front of the road and I….I killed him" Hanna choked out. Mona wrapped an arm around Hanna as best she could while Hanna was seated in the car.

"Turns out Hanna can't tell the left pedal from the right" Spencer said snidely. Mona levelled her with a glare.

"Hanna kills someone accidentally. KILLS someone and you leave her here, sitting in the car…with his blood all over her, the blood of the person who did God knows what to her, all by herself and then decide to criticise her driving skills?" Mona's voice was just below shouting.

"I don't know if it was an accident" Hanna whispered to Mona.

"Shh sweetie, it doesn't matter okay. Not right now" Mona soothed.

"I tried to get Hanna to move but she…she wasn't even talking…it was like she couldn't hear me and then I thought it might be better if Hanna was away from…this" Aria gestured to where they'd been digging. Mona raised an eyebrow.

"You're burying the body. Good. But then what? You gonna torch the car too?" Mona asked.

"I don't know yet" Spencer snapped. Mona sighed.

"Maybe we should just go to the police and tell them the truth, it was an accident" Aria said, Hanna could feel her looking at her. Spencer snorted.

"Oh yeah. And then they can look in to all of us, and our relationship with Rollins, and they can find out all about the many, many motives we have to kill him" Spencer snarked.

"They'd never believe us, we where just in Welby the other day being pretty vocal about how he was treating Alison" Emily mumbled.

"I just think we should tell the truth…Hanna…she has enough to deal with without this secret weighing her down" Aria countered. _Too late._ Hanna thought. She heard Mona snort.

"Amateurs. We make it look like he skipped town. Bury the body, but take his key card, you'll need it to get Alison back in to Welby before anyone realises she's missing. I will take Hanna with me to get the windshield fixed on Lucas's car at a place I know where no-one will ask questions or give answers because torching it or whatever Spencer had in mind will just draw attention to it, and then-" Mona cut off as Hanna slowly started to get out of the car. Hanna felt like she was made of cement as she finally emerged from the car. She slowly walked towards the clearing, picking a shovel up as she went. It felt heavy in her hand. _Where did they come from?_

"Hanna?" Aria questioned. Hanna kept walking steadily until she reached the hole. The girls had just finished digging it when Mona arrived and the body was lying next to it. Hanna stared at the gaping hole in the earth as she came to a stop, trying not to look at the body. It was funny….after being unable to look away now she didn't want to even glance at it. No-body had wanted to touch him more than they had to so his eyes…they where still open. _It's such a nice night._ Hanna thought absurdly, staring up at the same sky it was. Steeling shuddered anyway. She needed to do this. She crouched down, shovel in hand and she rummaged around the body until she found the key card, pulling it free and tossing it to Mona who caught it.

"Han, come on….we'll go fix the windshield, the others can handle this" Mona had lost her train of thought in the face of Hanna's odd behaviour.

"Yeah Han, it's okay" Aria chimed in.

"We got this, go" Emily added her voice.

"Yeah Mona, go driving in to town with Hanna looking and acting like that and sit there while they fix the freaking windshield and stare at the girl covered in blood" Mona glared.

"I'm not leaving her with _you."_ Mona lowered her voice. "I really hope you're not taking your Caleb issues out on your traumatised friend" Spencer glared. They looked round at a thump from Hanna's direction. Hanna had shoved the body in to the hole. It had been heavier than she had expected. _Dead weight._ Hanna's brain stuck on the word dead and she stared down at the body in the hole. It had landed face down. She took the shovel in both hands, gripping tight and started to scoop up dirt, and drop it over the body. As she got in to the flow of it…the repetitive action started to soothe her. _Scoop…and drop….scoop….and drop._

"Han…" Aria started, heading towards her.

"I need to do this. I need to. I can't just….just sit around. I need to do it" The girls exchanged glances.

"Mona you go deal with the windshield. I'll stay with Hanna" Aria decided. Mona looked skeptical.

"Fine. But when you're done, you stay with her and take her back to Spencer's to get cleaned up. She can't go back to her apartment, there's cameras everywhere not to mention Caleb who has called me multiple times to ask if I know where she is. He's worried" Mona directed the last part to Hanna.

"He can't know" she said in a monotone, continuing to fill in the grave methodically. Aria looked at Mona helplessly, before picking up her shovel and starting to help Hanna, hoping to get this over with fast and get Hanna away from the area. Mona turned to Emily and Spencer.

"When you're done, go back to the barn, you'll need to clean his car and wipe it down, except for Emily…you take Alison back to Welby" Emily nodded. "Got it?"

"Yeah….yeah I know how to handle this" Spencer said.

"Are you sure?" Spencer nodded. "Then if you can work it out for yourself, I'll go deal with the windshield" Mona approached Hanna who was still shovelling dirt. "Han? I'll see you soon okay?" Hanna nodded, and Mona gave her a quick hug before hurrying off to Lucas's car. Emily and Spencer where too busy staring after the car, Spencer mentally formulating next steps, to spot Alison finally moving. Aria and Hanna didn't realise she was there until a third pile of dirt upset their rhythm. Hanna turned her head to look, feeling her stomach drop at Alison's blank expression.

"Ali-"

"Like Hanna said. I need to do this" Ali said determinedly. Hanna swallowed.

"Alison…I'm so sorry, he was your husband and you loved him and I….I…." Alison took a breath, briefly closing her eyes, then grabbed Hanna in a fierce hug.

"It's okay. What he did to you..to me…clearly I didn't know him all that well…he was a monster. He deserved this. I would have…I would have killed him if I had the chance. Whether it was an accident or not…it's okay" Hanna nodded, returning the hug.

"You know this would go a lot faster if you do stopped staring in to space" Alison said as she let go of Hanna and addressed Emily and Spencer making them jump. It wasn't long before all five girls where filling in the grave, and patting down the top. They hurried to the car, Aria keeping an arm around Hanna. They all squeezed in to Rollins car, Hanna between the door and Aria, needing to be near an escape route, while Spencer took the wheel, and hit the accelerator, peeling the car out of there.

Hanna was barely paying attention to what the others where saying. She was too wrapped up in her own thoughts. She couldn't stop seeing Rollins and his…body. Hanna caught snatches…Spencer planning his 'timeline'. Once she'd cleaned the car she'd go to the station, dump it, and put his jacket on a train with his phone in the pocket. Emily would take Alison back back to Welby, then she had to go to Ali's house and pack a bag for Rollins 'in a rush' which they'd burn or….bury or whatever. Aria's sole job was to take care of Hanna and she'd probably be insulted if she didn't desperately not want to be by herself. Hanna tried not to listen but she kept hearing the words 'his timeline' where bandied about again and again and she felt her panic rising. This was crazy…she'd murdered someone and now they where planning how to cover it up…there was no way this would work. No way at all. Too many things could go wrong. Her phone vibrated…it was Caleb calling her again. She switched it off. What if Caleb found out? She was a murderer, she'd killed someone, he'd look at he differently. He'd…he'd….

"Oh God" Hanna whispered absent mindedly.

"Hanna, what's wrong?" Aria turned to her.

"What do you mean what's wrong? Wh-wh-what are we doing? We're never going to get away with this" Hanna gave voice to the panic inside her. She couldn't keep it in any longer. Her breathing was speeding up and she tried to do remember what Caleb had told her to do…breathing….deep breaths.

"Okay don't say that" Emily snapped.

"Who else is going to say it Emily?" Hanna's voice rose. They had to all be thinking it, it couldn't just be her.

"We've thought of everything" Aria tried to reassure Hanna.

"Nobody thinks of everything, okay. I'm going to jail. I'm-I'm going to jail. I'm going to jail for…for…" Hanna had seen way too many cop shows to think they'd thought of every single little thing, she'd already been in jail once, and she wasn't going back there. She struggled to remember the correct word through a cloud of panic, becoming frustrated on top of everything else.

"For vehicular manslaughter" Aria supplied.

"Yeah for vehicular manslaughter. God we're never going to be able to pull this off. I mean there are way too many things that could screw us up, we've probably already done fifty things wrong by now" Hanna's brain was racing through the events since she'd hit Rollins. But she hadn't been aware of everything the girls where doing…they could have done something wrong…left some clue… _Mona would have checked right? Or she would have if I hadn't been such a basket case._

"Hanna please stop, okay! You're not the only person who buried a body back there" Spencer snapped.

"No, I'm not, but I'm the only one who…who was driving and who…who…." Hanna heard the body hit the car, heard glass shatter. Saw Rollins bloody face.

"Guys, if we just stay calm and stick to the plan we'll be fine" Emily said soothingly.

"Hanna….this was Mona's idea, Spencer came up with some of it, but it was Mona's idea in the beginning you trust Mona right?" Hanna nodded, "Mona's helping us, there's no way she'd let you go to jail okay?" Hanna nodded, trying to calm down. She stared out of the window for the rest of the drive, not saying anything, lost in her thoughts. Hearing the car hitting his body…hearing the glass smash…seeing his face again and again.


	10. Chapter Ten

They finally made it back to the barn. Emily and Alison had quickly cleaned up before Emily took her car and headed off to Welby to sneak Alison back in. As soon as they'd left Spencer put the chain on the door. Hanna was just standing and staring at the mud all over the floor of the barn while Aria was close by trying to work out how to help Hanna. Hanna knew what Aria was thinking, Aria was thinking that maybe she should call Caleb and get him to help, she knew it because Caleb had been the one helping her this entire time. But Hanna didn't want Caleb involved, she wanted him as far away from this as possible so he wouldn't go down too. So he'd be safe. So he wouldn't have to know what she did. Wouldn't be dragged in to it. Wouldn't look at her and see a murderer. See the blood all over her.

"Han….do you want to take a shower?" Aria asked. Hanna was snapped out of her thoughts, and at the memory of His blood hitting her face…she nodded and started to head for Spencer's bathroom.

"Don't call Caleb, promise me" Hanna whispered to Aria as she passed her. Aria nodded.

"I promise" but Hanna could tell Aria didn't agree with the decision. She had to hope Aria was the good friend Hanna thought she was. She didn't know when it had happened but Hanna had come to rely on Aria the past few days.

Hanna closed the bathroom door behind her with a soft click. She stared down at herself, then slowly walked towards the mirror, and peered at her reflection. She saw the blood on her face. His blood. Her breaths started to come faster and she started to panic. She wanted it off. She didn't want the blood on her, didn't want it there on her skin, touching her. She practically ripped her torn and dirty clothes off, pushing them out of the door when she was done.

"I don't….I don't want to see these again" She said abruptly. Spencer nodded.

"It's okay Han…I'll take care of it and…I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier, I know you panicked…it was nothing to do with Caleb I was just….stressed and scared." Hanna nodded, not entirely sure she believed her, this was, after all, the second thing Hanna had screwed up for her, then retreated back in to the bathroom. She glanced at her reflection again and then threw herself in the shower, fumbling with the water as she put it as hot as it would go. She felt like she'd never be warm again.

Hanna spent a long time standing under scalding hot water, scrubbing her skin over and over again until it was practically raw. No matter how hard she scrubbed she couldn't get the feel of his blood off of her. She couldn't feel clean. She felt…dirty. Eventually the hot water started to run out and Aria tapped on the door.

"Han, you okay in there?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute" she replied, turning off the water and wrapping herself in a towel. She went over to the mirror and wiped some steam away, so she could examine her reflection again. Her face was clean. No blood, no dirt. It was gone. But it didn't feel like it was gone. It felt like it was permanently embedded on her face. She closed her eyes and opened them again…then checked her reflection. She still looked clean. Maybe she was on the outside…but she wasn't on the inside. Hanna went to move her hair off her face, and as she did she felt something. Something hard and small. She felt around in her hair, then managed to grasp whatever it was. She pulled it out carefully, and looked at it. It was a shard of glass. From the windshield. She swallowed and brought it to eye level. There was blood on it…..his blood. She stared at it. Hearing the glass smash….feeling the blood hitting her…seeing his face. His blood was on this shard…this shard that had clung to her no matter how much she'd washed her hair and body. It had clung on. Because she murdered him. She killed him and she would never be able to forget it. She shook her head a little and threw the shard in the trash, not wanting to be in contact with it for any longer. She was breathing heavily and she jumped when there was another light tap on the door.

"Han? I got you a robe" Aria said. Hanna slowly opened the door.

"Thanks" she muttered taking the robe from Aria and closing the door before she could say anything else. Hanna stood with her back to the door, clutching the robe while she tried to level out her breathing. She couldn't have another episode, not right now. _Not without Caleb to help me._ Her brain whispered before she shut it up. Hanna finally wrapped herself in the robe, towel dried her hair as best she could and emerged from the bathroom.

Aria and Spencer had cleaned themselves up while she'd been in the shower and now Spencer was on her hands and knees trying to clean up all the mud everyone had tracked in while Aria paced anxiously near the bathroom door.

"How does it feel to be clean?" Aria asked, trying for light hearted.

"I wouldn't know" Hanna responded, feeling bad she hadn't played along with Aria, but unable to lie. To act so….casual after killing someone. Aria nodded understandingly. Hanna figured Aria understood at least some of what was going on with her now, and tried a weak smile. Hanna turned to where Spencer was cleaning the floor.

"Spencer I should help you with that" Hanna said in an empty voice.

"No, I got it, please just sit down Hanna, okay" Spencer said, trying to smile reassuringly. "Besides if anyone should help me it should be pacey over there" she nodded in Aria's direction.

"Hey! I was going to offer…"

"Sure you where" Spencer shook her head. Hanna sat down heavily in the armchair, staring at the ground. At the mess she'd helped create, that Spencer was having to clean up. She looked up, about to insist Spencer let her help again when she spotted Aria staring at her hand.

"What?"

"Hanna….please tell me you didn't lose your ring when we where burying a dead body" Aria's calm voice deteriorated in to a panicked hiss. Spencer's head snapped up.

"Aria, remember Caleb said…." Spencer trailed off looking meaningfully at Hanna's ring. Aria's face flooded with relief as she remembered the conversation from the other day.

"Sorry….I guess with everything that happened it slipped my mind and then…..I panicked" she said sheepishly.

"Caleb said what?" Hanna asked quietly.

"We just…we noticed you weren't wearing your ring and Caleb said you'd called Jordan and we asked Caleb and-"

"What did he say?"

"He said you'd tell us when you're ready…" Aria nudged Spencer.

"It's okay Han, you don't have to tell us anything, I just panicked when I saw your hand is all" Hanna was silent. "Han?"

"I guess it doesn't matter now….I broke up with Jordan. I…I was debating putting it on but then Emily…and…I forgot about it"

"Debating?"

"I didn't want you guys to know…I thought if I put it on you guys wouldn't think anything was wrong….I thought I could carry on like everything was normal and you guys wouldn't worry about me or….or pity me"

"But?" Aria prompted, settling on to the arm of the chair Hanna was sitting in.

"But at the same time…it felt wrong to wear it because…." Hanna glanced at Spencer.

"Because of Caleb" She finished for her. Hanna nodded.

"I'm sorry Spencer"

"It's okay Hanna, I'm not mad at you….I'm mad at myself and at him…but not at you. You suffered so much and you still tried to put me before you, and….I should have known better. I didn't…I didn't even ask what happened between you guys." Hanna didn't say anything. Spencer shared a look with Aria.

"About Caleb…"

"We're not calling him, okay. He can't be involved in this"

"Hanna, I know you want to protect him but-"

"NO. Okay. NO. Caleb and I…I….."

"Hanna, we know you love him…and he loves you…so what's the problem. He told me he's-"

"It doesn't matter Spencer. It doesn't. None of it matters"

"Han-"

"No Aria. It doesn't matter how Caleb feels about me or how I feel about him. I always screw it up. Something always goes wrong or comes between us. If Caleb and I got back together, he'd be a target. I can't let anyone else get hurt because of me"

"Is that why you broke up with Jordan? It has to be more than just your feelings for Caleb because if you want to keep Caleb away the smart thing to do would be to keep up the engagement with Jordan but you didn't…" Spencer asked and Hanna nodded.

"I can't let Caleb get hurt because of me. Whether it's A doing the hurting…..or me. I know he wants to protect me…but I want to protect him. I want to keep him safe so he doesn't get hurt because if he got hurt….I'd…I'd…I've hurt him enough" Aria put her arm around Hanna.

"Han, Caleb can take care of himself, and you know he'll involve himself anyway, to keep you safe. He already has by getting Mona to look in to Rollins" Aria winced after saying the name.

"That's why I have to keep him away. Keep him away from me and all this, before he gets in too far. "

"And how's that working out for ya?" Spencer found herself repeating the same sentence from hours ago.

"I just…I….."

"You can't help yourself" Aria said knowingly.

"I need to. I need to keep Caleb away. If I don't screw things up between us A will….oh wait…A won't need to screw anything up…this dead body and the fact I murdered someone should do it" Hanna said voice rising, letting out a slightly hysterical laugh. "I can't do this with him again, I can't, not when everything gets screwed up and I'm so broken and damaged and…and messed up after what he….what Rollins….did. And now…now I killed someone and Caleb can't know, he can't, because if he found out he'd never look at me the same way again, I can't even look at me the same way again…I'm a murderer" Hanna started to cry. Aria wrapped her arms around her as best she could from her angle, while Spencer looked horrified.

"Hanna….I know what I said but I was just scared and frustrated and…..I know it was an accident"

"But I don't think it was" Hanna sobbed.

"I….I…..I saw him and I-I-I was back in the barn, back in a cold dark room being….being….." Aria and Spencer shared a look.

"Being what Hanna?"

"He…he…..the dollhouse, I told Aria it was completely different to what happened in the barn, the dollhouse…it was all mental but in the barn…he…he…"

"Hanna it's okay, you don't have to tell us anything" Aria soothed, removing her arms from around Hanna and opting to rub her back soothingly instead. But Hanna wasn't listening. Spencer was staring at Hanna, unable to look away.

"I knew it was him…..when we where outside the house while you where inside Aria…I knew it was him when he looked me in the eye….I could see it in his eyes…he…he…he was gloating…triumphant..he knew me. He _knew_ me on some…some other level. It was him it had to be, and I knew it was a guy because…because…." Hanna choked on a sob.

"Han, stop" Spencer commanded.

"He kept me in the dark….it was always dark….the sun didn't even come through properly it was always dark and shadowy and the light hurt my eyes so I had to…I had to stay in the shadows with…with…" Hanna took a huge breath, tears coursing down her face while Aria stroked her hair. "There where things…in the shadows…in the dark…I think…think they where rats. Things where moving….I was too scared to try and look properly…..I wasn't alone even when he…he wasn't in there with me. It was always dark….I was always in the dark but he…he could always see me…always. He always knew exactly where I was…so….so I could never get away from him…could never avoid it." Aria looked at Spencer.

"Night vision…had to be. Must have been how he took that photo too" Spencer practically whispered. Hanna was oblivious, lost in her own world.

"I woke up…and it was cold, and dark and I was alone. I was alone and I hurt all over, and I was bruised and he mustn't have cared if I got hurt when he knocked me out and dragged me through that hole or maybe….maybe he…he….maybe when I was unconscious he…"

"We get it Han, it's okay" Aria again.

"I couldn't get out….I was trapped and I couldn't get out and I was alone and it was so cold. I kept crying for help…crying for….you guys and for….for…for Caleb" Hanna sobbed out. "But no-one came except for…..him. I had to sit with my back to the wall because it was so dark and I couldn't see and..and…and…I didn't want anything to creep up on me, I wanted to be facing….it…him. I couldn't tell if anyone was there and I was shivering all the time because he…he…he took my clothes"

"The doll…." Spencer realised.

"Do you think Caleb realised because…."

"He must have or he'd have gone-" Hanna cut them off.

"So cold. I guess I should be grateful I was cold…the vent thingy was how I got out after you showed me Spence"

"Wait, what?" Spencer interrupted but Hanna ignored her.

"Save it for later, okay Spence?" Spencer nodded at Aria and they turned back to Hanna who was continuing as if they weren't even there. Hanna couldn't see or hear anything except for the barn and Rollins and…..and electricity.

"He wouldn't give me any food….but I…I managed to get water. I got lots of water….if I…..if I kept my mouth open sometimes I could drink some. I probably should have cared that it was dirty or…or diseased but I was so thirsty and so…so…tired. I…I told myself I needed something to keep me going….to keep me….keep me functioning so that when I escaped I could….I could do it…..when I was running after I got out I thought I'd pass out…I didn't think I'd make it and I could hear someone following me and I was so weak I didn't think…but I made it" Hanna said as if reassuring herself. The robe shifted and Spencer saw Hanna's skin for the first time.

"Is that….."

"It's a burn mark….Ezra said…he said" Aria swallowed unable to finish.

"There are others, I have them all over" Hanna's empty voice was back.

"Hanna…what happened?" Spencer asked, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Spence I don't think-"

"The first time it happened…I didn't know what was going on. But after that first time…I learned what to expect. Knew what was coming..it…it made it easier to deal with but that first time….that's the one I remember. Over and over and over again…that and the….the….." Hanna swallowed, breathing hard. "I heard the door open and I thought….I thought…." Hanna started to cry again, "I thought it was you guys…that you'd found me and come to rescue me. I could hear someone moving around and I….I called your names. But no-one answered. I heard….I heard a laugh…but it was distorted and….and it was creepy and then I knew it wasn't any of you…that none of you had come for me and…and then…I couldn't hear him moving anymore. I didn't know where he was and I backed up to the wall to make sure he wasn't behind me, and it was so dark I couldn't see. I was trying to see…..see where he was when this torrent of water hit me…..it slammed in to me and it was freezing and I couldn't get away from it and it hurt and he kept on spraying and spraying and spraying and I swallowed some whenever it hit my face because I was so…so thirsty." Hanna paused, trying to breath through her tears, "It…it felt like forever but then it stopped and I…I thought that was it and I was confused because….I couldn't figure out why he'd spray me with water. I was already freezing….I didn't understand. I was….I was trying to wipe water out of my eyes so I never even saw it coming but I….I-I heard this weird sound and-" Hanna broke off with a sob, Aria took one of Hanna's hands with her own and soon found it gripped by both of Hanna's. Spencer looked like she might be sick, Aria had been forewarned by Ezra's comment but Spencer…she had no idea.

"He used it on me….he used it and…and….he shocked me with it. Over and over and over again with that…..the…..cattle prod. I kept asking him to stop, I was crying and I kept asking him to stop but he wouldn't, he kept doing it over and over and he kept hitting different spots so I couldn't….I couldn't try and block him and I couldn't see. Arms, legs, neck, stomach, ribs…he kept hitting me with it and…and….and it hurt so bad and….and he wouldn't stop and I….I…."

"What Hanna? You can tell us anything" Spencer said reassuringly. Moving closer and resting her hand on Hannas, with Aria's clasped between. Hanna looked at Spencer apologetically, but before Spencer could scold her for it, Hanna continued, tears falling faster down her cheeks.

"I wanted Caleb" Hanna sobbed.

"Oh Han" Spencer said, unsure how to comfort her.

"No matter how much I cried, or pleaded or begged he wouldn't stop and I kept….I kept wishing Caleb would come and…and…and save me but he didn't and Rollins he kept…he kept hitting me with that…that prod and I kept telling him I didn't know who killed Charlotte. I told him….I…I told him, but he wouldn't stop. I just wanted him to stop….and eventually he did and he left but I…I couldn't move I just…I slid down to the floor and I couldn't move" Hanna cried. Aria and Spencer doing their best to comfort her, but not knowing how.

"He came back a few hours later" Hanna said quietly. "He spoke…his voice was disguised but…it was him right?" Aria and Spencer nodded. "He asked me again and again about Charlotte. How she died. When. Why I killed her and I told him I didn't know…..I didn't kill her. I swore I didn't again and again. I couldn't answer any of his questions and I kept saying I didn't over and over. Then I think….I think he believed me or….or he already knew because he started to ask me who killed her. He asked me over and over and over and he kept hitting the wall around me each time….and it kept making me jump because I…I couldn't see him or…or where he was aiming and I kept thinking he'd hit me next…but he just kept hitting the wall and asking me again and again and again and then he must have started to believe me because he…he…he got really really mad and he…he.."

"Hanna, I think you should stop okay?" Aria tried. But Hanna was lost in her memories again and she stared at the floor blankly, tears wetting her face as she recounted what had happened.

"He….he grabbed me and he…he…I couldn't fight him off..and…and he was really strong and…..and…he didn't look that strong not when…when I….when I killed him. I could….I moved his body so easily….to tip it in the hole…he didn't look strong then. But he was…when he-he-he pinned me and I struggled but I couldn't get away….I was so weak…so tired…I couldn't get away and I thought he…..I thought he was going to kill me" Hanna choked out. "I thought he'd kill me but he didn't and it….it was so much worse…it…it made me wish he would just to make it stop." Spencer and Aria had tears in their eyes but no matter what they said, Hanna wouldn't stop…couldn't stop. She'd started speaking and she couldn't stop, not until she'd gotten it all out, not until she'd told them everything. It was like the floodgates had been opened and she couldn't stop speaking or crying.

"He pinned me and he…he…he pressed the rod to my back and he-he-he-he held it there. He held it there and he kept asking the same question over and over again…shouting…over and over again. 'Who killed Charlotte? Who? Who killed her?' I told him…I told him I didn't know….I swore I didn't know….I kept saying over and over, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. But he kept asking and he kept….he kept pressing it to my back and…and…he wouldn't stop" Hanna cried. Aria wrapped her arms around Hanna again, tightly, as tightly as she could without hurting her. Hanna raised her head and looked Spencer dead in the eye. Spencer swallowed at all the pain she could see there. Hanna spoke in a very quiet voice, breath hitching as she cried.

"I saw you in there Spencer. I had a dream, and you where in there with me and you spoke to me and sang me to sleep and you stayed with me and you told me how to get out. It was you who told me. If you hadn't I…I wouldn't have been able to get out. You said I wouldn't die in there. You said you wouldn't let it happen and you told me how to get out of there" Spencer exchanged a confused look with Aria.

'Han you got yourself out that wasn't really-"

"You asked me if I was telling the truth….if I told them the truth and I…..I said…I said…"

"What is it Hanna?"

"I can't tell you…because….because you'll be so disappointed in me" Hanna cried.

"No Hanna" Aria comforted, "No we won't, we're your friends we would never be disappointed in you" Hanna chewed her bottom lip.

"I said….that it was a good thing we didn't know who killed Charlotte because…because….I'd tell if I did. To make it stop…I just wanted it to stop. Even if it had been you….or….or you Aria or….or….or Caleb" Hanna let out a sob, "I'd have told to make it stop" Spencer moved to the other side of Hanna and joined Aria hugging her. The both of them trying to offer as much comfort as they could.

"It's okay Han, you got out"

"But I can't stop thinking about what would have happened if I hadn't…what he…..what he would have done next"

"You're safe now Han….you're safe" Spencer murmured.

"Yeah because I….because I killed him. Some really scary things happened in that…that…..in the barn and when I saw him I….I knew I should stop…I knew. But I…I…..I could see that cold, dark room, I could see it and I…I kept seeing what he did to me over and over and I….I hesitated. I didn't move my foot….I….I left it. You where wrong Spencer….I did know the difference between the pedals and I….I started to press down…it was only for a moment but I started to press harder…but then I…..I…..I realised I couldn't do it…I couldn't kill him no matter what he did to me or to Ali….I couldn't do it….I couldn't be that person….I didn't want to be that person…I didn't want another secret to hide I didn't want to make another mess….so I braked, but because I hesitated it was too late and I….I…the car…it wouldn't stop…I kept pressing on the brake but the car wouldn't stop and then it…it hit him and his blood was all over me and it feels like it still is, I feel like I'll never be clean again, like I'm tainted and if Caleb found out…if he found out he'd never look at me the same way again…he'd….he'd look at me like I'm a murderer like he doesn't even know me….he wouldn't look at me like I was Hanna anymore" Hanna started to sob harder. "How am I supposed to go back to my apartment….I….I…I don't even want him near me because I feel like….like if he touches me he'll be tainted too". Hanna couldn't stop crying, she wanted to, she didn't want to be this weak, this…broken but she couldn't stop. She kept hearing Caleb saying he loved her and saying all those incredibly sweet things, and seeing the look in his eyes when he gazed at her…but interspersed with that were scenes from the barn from….from killing Rollins. Aria and Spencer where hugging her tightly, not sure what else they could do or say. They where all so caught up that they jumped when the door was shoved open and was stopped short by the chain.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Caleb had finally cracked. He'd been determined to stay at the apartment. Mona already thought he was acting crazy…over protective, and he knew he should reign it back but he couldn't take it anymore. It was late. He had no idea where Hanna was and he was worried. No-one was answering his calls. He'd paced. He'd freaked out. He'd paced some more. He'd imagined every possible bad scenario that Hanna could have been involved in. He'd paced a little bit more. Had his calls rejected again. And then he'd reached a level of worry like he'd never felt before. He felt like something was wrong and he couldn't get images of Hanna alone and scared out of his head. So he'd finally left the apartment and driven over to Spencer's. He figured he'd check there first. That's where all the girls would be if there'd been some sort of clue or break through. He drove careless of the speed limit, it wasn't like anyone was around at this time of night anyway. He pulled up in front of Spencer's house, the car barely stopped before he was jumping out and slamming the door. He rushed over to the barn as fast as he could, he still had a key thanks to Spencer. He really should give it back but he just…he hadn't gotten around to it. Hanna had been his main focus. He was about to put the key in the lock when he heard a raised voice, "NO. Okay, NO." _That's Hanna's voice._ Then he heard his name and he knew he shouldn't….but he very slowly and carefully put the key in to the lock, waited until he heard the murmur of voices again…and then slowly opened the door a crack. Not very wide, but wide enough that he could hear them clearly. They must have been close to the door, Hanna sounded like she was in the armchair close by.

Caleb had a pretty good idea what was going on with Hanna, he knew her like the back of his hand, but he figured a little extra insight couldn't hurt at this stage. It was what he already knew. Hanna wanted to keep him safe, keep him out of A's crosshairs, and it made him smile because it meant that she cared. She'd said she loved him but she'd made it sound like a throwaway comment, but she was so determined to keep him safe. _She's adorable when she's all protective of me._ Caleb smiled to himself. She was so damn determined to cling on to her reasoning though, even though they both knew it was pretty weak. He listened as Hanna couldn't bring her self to say what she'd do if he got hurt because of her. Aria was quick to reassure Hanna. _Damn right I'll involve myself._ Hanna was getting more distressed. He could hear it in her voice. He wanted to go in there and wrap his arms around her and tell her he'd be fine. To stop worrying, that he can take care of himself. To end this all and just…be Hanna and Caleb. But he stopped himself because Hanna started to say something, something about a dead body and he actually thought he'd heard wrong but Hanna was getting worked up and her voice was loud and clear.

"And now…now I killed someone and Caleb can't know, he can't, because if he found out he'd never look at me the same way again, I can't even look at me the same way again…I'm a murderer" Caleb heard Hanna start to cry, but he was too shocked to react. She killed someone? _What the hell? I fall asleep for like…five minutes..okay maybe longer, and she goes out and kills someone? Oh Hanna, what did you do?_ He felt his heart break a little bit at Hanna's insistence that he'd not see her the same way. She'd always be Hanna to him. His Hanna. Whoever she killed…he was sure she had a reason. Hanna may have been going through a lot but she wasn't a stone cold killer. He was torn. Part of him wanted to charge in there, but….if he stayed still and listened…he might find out what the hell was going on. Sure Hanna would probably tell him…in her own time. But it wouldn't be anytime soon and Caleb needed to know what was going on so he could help her. Protect her. So he stayed rooted to the spot and listened, no matter how wrong he knew it was.

He listened as Hanna told Aria and Spencer that she knew Rollins was 'the one' he'd known it since that look as well, but he wasn't sure if Hanna had known, or if he'd even been right. Caleb had to brace both hands on the doorway and hold on to stop himself from rushing in to the room as Hanna spoke about her time in the barn. Hearing her sobs chipped away pieces of his heart. _I should be in there with her…but she needs to talk to someone about this and if I go charging in there she'll clam up._ He told himself. She talked about how dark it was, how scared she was and Hanna's episode in her room had a new meaning added to it. He couldn't imagine being in Hanna's place. How scared she must have been…she'd looked scared in that photo..but hearing her say she was scared..that was another thing entirely. He didn't like the way she said she could 'never get away' it was sending unpleasant images to his brain, and he had to shake his head to dislodge them.

"Maybe….maybe he…he….maybe when I was unconscious he…"

Caleb's knuckles went white where he grasped the doorframe. If he ever found out that bastard had done anything to her while she was unconscious…he would beat him until he was a bloody mess. Just the thought of him striking Hanna was enough to make him see red, let alone…anything else.

"I kept crying for help…crying for….you guys and for….for…for Caleb" Caleb felt his heart crack. She'd been…she'd been crying for him. And he had let her down. Hanna kept saying she was too screwed up and broken for him…and he didn't care. He'd told her he didn't care. But it was his fault that she was. He'd been the one encouraging her with the plan. He'd been the one that had lost her. He couldn't get the image of Hanna, alone and scared, and crying for him to help her, out of his head. He surfaced from his thoughts when he heard his name. He actually hadn't thought twice about Hanna's lack of clothing, he'd been too concerned for her and too occupied with getting her warm and safe. It was probably a good thing that he hadn't fully thought about it or he would have been…well….Rage was one word to describe it.

He could hear in Hanna's voice how far away she was from the room she was currently occupied, she was miles away. Back in the Barn. He wanted to shake Spencer when she started to press Hanna about what happened. He wasn't sure he wanted her to carry on. Not when he wasn't in there with her. Helping her. But he needed to know. Needed to know because every time he thought about it too hard, his imagination ran wild and his made up images haunted him. He just needed to know and Hanna needed to talk to someone about it. As Hanna started to describe the barn door opening, Caleb got a bad feeling and he swallowed hard. When she moved on to describe being sprayed by water…he felt his stomach drop. Ezra had said…explained. And Caleb knew. But hearing Hanna describe it in her wavering voice, hearing the tears in her voice…the sobs. Caleb felt himself getting choked up. He'd done this to her. This was his fault. He hadn't protected her and this had happened. His brain started to play a vision of Hanna, exactly as she described, crying out…begging Rollins to stop, but being hurt over and over again. He clenched his fists around the doorframe and gritted his teeth.

"He wouldn't stop and I…I…." Caleb leaned closer to the gap.

"What Hanna? You can tell us anything" Spencer reassured her. Silence. He held his breath.

"I wanted Caleb" Hanna sobbed. Caleb felt the air leave his lungs, felt like he'd been stabbed in the heart. A tear slowly started to slide down his cheek. He thought Spencer said something but he wasn't paying attention. Not until Hanna spoke again and his ears practically perked up.

"No matter how much I cried, or pleaded or begged he wouldn't stop and I kept….I kept wishing Caleb would come and…and…and save me but he didn't and Rollins he kept…" Caleb felt another tear make its way down his face. Hanna had wanted him. She'd been crying out for him. Wishing he was there. Wishing he'd saved her but he hadn't. He hadn't until right at the last minute. He hadn't been there. He hadn't saved her in time. He…he'd let her down so much. If he hadn't…he shouldn't have gone along with the plan. He shouldn't have let Hanna….. _I didn't let Hanna do anything. She didn't really give me much choice. I still should have stopped her. Should have done something._ Caleb's heart just broke. All he could see was Hanna, calling his name as she was shocked again and again. His hold on the doorframe was the only thing keeping him upright.

"Hanna I think you should stop, okay?" Caleb agreed with Aria. He wanted to know so he could help Hanna, but all he knew was how badly he screwed up. _How do I make this up to her?_ Caleb didn't have long to dwell on his thoughts because as he listened he realised who it was Hanna had killed. _She killed Rollins. Typical Hanna, the guy tortures her and she kills him and she feels bad about. Sometimes I think she has too good a heart._ What Caleb heard next had him so angry, so full of rage that he wished he'd been the one to kill Rollins. Wished he'd gotten to do to him what he did to Hanna, right before he beat the ever loving crap out of him. Hanna had thought she was going to die…wanted to die. His Hanna…..had wanted to die to make it end.

"He pinned me and he…he…he pressed the rod to my back and he-he-he-he held it there. He held it there and he kept asking the same question over and over again…shouting…over and over again." Caleb wasn't sure if he'd just accidentally cracked the doorframe or not. He really didn't care either way. He'd seen the marks on Hanna, gotten a good look at them. He hadn't wanted to dwell on the specifics, but he knew exactly which mark Hanna was referring to. There where a few on her back but only one looked….deep. Angry. Like it had been inflicted over and over again….or like someone had held a cattle prod to her wet back. If Rollins were still alive, Caleb would have hunted him down then and there and…

"I said….that it was a good thing we didn't know who killed Charlotte because…because….I'd tell if I did. To make it stop…I just wanted it to stop. Even if it had been you….or….or you Aria or….or….or Caleb" Caleb hated hearing that pain in Hanna's voice. He wished she'd lied and said it was him. He'd have taken her place gladly to stop her from experiencing so much pain….suffering.

Caleb listened as Hanna gave voice to one of his biggest fears. He'd spent a lot of time picturing what could have happened if she hadn't gotten out…if he hadn't handed over Ali. It was enough to make sure he wouldn't sleep again if Hanna wasn't near him. Enough to make him never want to let her out of his sight. He listened, barely breathing as Hanna described killing Rollins. It was an accident. She'd braked. It didn't matter if there was a moment of hesitation. She'd braked. It wasn't her fault. But Hanna…his kind, big hearted Hanna….would still beat herself up, still lose sleep, still feel awful for killing him. Feel awful for feeling any little shred of satisfaction. Because that was who she is. No matter what he did to her. Caleb couldn't allow it. He should have burst in to that room way before now. Shouldn't have let Hanna sit there, reliving all of this without him by her side. Crying. He hated it when she cried.

"His blood was all over me and it feels like it still is, I feel like I'll never be clean again, like I'm tainted and if Caleb found out…if he found out he'd never look at me the same way again…he'd….he'd look at me like I'm a murderer like he doesn't even know me….he wouldn't look at me like I was Hanna anymore" Caleb was shaking his head and he heard Hanna started to sob harder. It was the final straw.

"How am I supposed to go back to my apartment….I….I…I don't even want him near me because I feel like….like if he touches me he'll be tainted too". _Oh hell no._ He and Hanna had been starting to get to a good place, he wasn't about to let some creepy ass doctor who deserved what he got come between them. Caleb didn't care if it was an accident or not. He couldn't believe Hanna would think so little of him but then after everything that had happened between them….New York for instance, he couldn't really blame her. He'd let her down again and again. _Don't want me near you? Tough luck Hanna because I'm not letting you push me away._ Caleb needed to get to Hanna. He shouldn't have stayed out here as long as he had, Hanna needed him. He shoved the door expecting it to fly open, but it didn't. It stopped and no matter how hard he shoved it wouldn't open. Then he remembered… _the chain. Dammit._

"Hanna…it's me, open the door" Hanna calmed down as she registered Caleb's voice. _As if it could have been Rollins, I hit him with my car and then buried him six feet under._ Then she started to panic again. _How long had be been out there…what had he heard?_ Hanna turned to Aria.

"You didn't…" Aria held her hands up.

"I really didn't. He must have decided to come looking, let's be honest, this isn't exactly a secret hide out" Hanna nodded, conceding the point. She swallowed, trying to make her voice sound normal.

"Caleb I can't..I can't talk right now. What do you want?"

"I want you to open the door so I can see you and have a conversation with you without however many inches of wood in the way"

"I'm fine Caleb. I'm sorry I left without telling you, I wanted to…to…to prove to myself I could and there was….the…the girls needed me. You can go now, I'll…I'll see you tomorrow"

"I figured. I was worried. But that's not the point Hanna. You're not fine. I know you're not, Hanna please. I…I need to see you" Caleb said imploringly.

"Go away Caleb" Hanna said, fresh tears starting to fall.

"No. Open the damn door Hanna, now" Caleb gave the door another shove, as Spencer braced it from the other side.

"Please go away Caleb. Please" Hanna couldn't have Caleb here. Not now. Not after she'd just killed someone. She couldn't be around him.

"Hanna please" Hanna could hear the anguish in his voice. "Please let me in, or I'll…I'll break the door down or or…"

"Woah. Okay, no. No damaging Spencer's barn" Spencer snapped at Caleb.

"I don't care about your stupid barn Spencer, I will do whatever it takes to get in there and-" Spencer rolled her eyes.

"We get it. Hold on" Spencer managed to close the door. Hanna stared at her. Caleb hammered on the door.

"Spencer no. You can't let him in…he can't…he can't see me like this…he…he…I can't….I can't be…I can't-" Hanna shot out of her seat and started to panic. Aria stood and rubbed her back.

"Han…I hate to break it to you but I think he…I think he might have heard some stuff" Hanna stared at Aria in horror.

"No..no he can't. He's just upset because I left and-" Spencer took the chain off the door. "Spencer no!" The door flew open and Caleb rushed in.

"Hanna!" Caleb's voice sounded strange…like he'd…like he'd been crying and when she examined his face Hanna could see tear tracks. Aria was right. He'd heard.

"No, no, no, no, no, no" Hanna cried, shaking her head and holding her hands up to keep him back. Caleb rushed to her, he didn't give her a chance to get away. As soon as he reached her he wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could without hurting her and buried his face in her hair.

"Caleb no, let me go…don't…..don't….don't touch me, CALEB!" Hanna started to cry harder, trying to push at his chest. But Caleb wouldn't let her go. He couldn't. He just kept on holding her, not letting her go, not letting her get away. He ignored Aria and Spencer. He was entirely focused on Hanna.

"I am not going to be tainted Hanna. I don't care if you killed the bastard. I don't care if it was an accident or not. He had it coming. He tortured you and he was chasing down your friend to do God knows what. You saved her." he whispered in to her ear. "There is nothing you could do that would make me look at you differently Hanna, you will always be Hanna to me. My Hanna. I'm sorry that I didn't save you, that you where calling for me and I didn't answer. That will never happen again, I will always come for you, always save you. This is all my fault, I'm the one who let you down…lost you. I shouldn't have left in New York. I shouldn't have left at the resort I should have hidden under the bed or something. This is my fault, all of it." Caleb squeezed her tightly as he felt her sob. "For the record, if that bastard wasn't already dead, I'd kill him myself, you gave him much a quicker end than I would have" he growled. "And how many times do I have to tell you, I don't care if you're broken or damaged or whatever, I love you. Okay. I love you. No matter what. You need to stop pushing me away Hanna. I'm not leaving you again. I promise. You need me and I need you. We will get through this together okay?" He felt Hanna stop fighting, she sagged against him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. He sighed at the familiar and missed touch. He didn't know how long he stood there holding Hanna while she cried. But it was long enough for Spencer to disappear and do…whatever she had to do. He assumed she had some sort of plan. Caleb knew things weren't resolved, weren't fixed between he and Hanna. But this was a start. He knew everything, it was all out in the open and he could help Hanna and then….then when the time was right they could be together again. Properly. But for now….he'd be happy with just knowing that Hanna needed him. He kissed her hair.

"Guys. Hate to interrupt. Mona just texted me. She's done with the car, she's parked it at your apartment and she's about to head back to…." Aria swallowed, "…To the woods and pick up her car. She wants us to meet her at your apartment"

"She said she found something but I…I was too worried about Hanna to question her" Caleb admitted. "Han…not that I don't like the robe but..have you got anything to wear?"

"No. My clothes where….they…I didn't want them anymore" she mumbled in to his chest. Caleb looked up at Aria, "Can you grab a pair of Spencer's sweats or something?" Aria nodded. Caleb tried to step back from Hanna but she wouldn't let go. He allowed himself to enjoy it for a few seconds before gently pulling her off him. "We're gonna go home in a minute Han, but first you need to get dressed otherwise you'll freeze, okay" Hanna shrugged.

"I doubt I'd feel it. I don't think I'll ever be warm again" Caleb smirked. Running his hands down her arms.

"I'm sure I could help you with that…you know I run hot. Like your own personal hot water bottle, but for now…" he paused as he removed his hands from her and pulled his sweater over his head, his t-shirt briefly riding up. His smirk was firmly back in place as he caught Hanna looking. He handed her his sweater, "Here, put this on." He waited but she didn't move.

"Turn around" she mumbled.

"Really? What happened to 'it's nothing I haven't seen before'?" he teased. Apparently it was too soon for teasing because he got no response. He sighed and turned his back. When he turned back around Hanna was swamped in his sweater. He smiled at the sight. It wasn't long before Aria was back with a pair of leggings for Hanna to wear, and as soon as she'd put them on, they where ready to leave.

"Shoes?" Caleb asked. Aria shook her head. "Seriously? Those too? Weren't they like….Choo Miu or something?"

"That's not even a real designer Caleb. And they weren't Jimmy Choos or Miu Miu" Caleb smiled. Pleased to have gotten a reaction. She should know by now that he knew his war around her shoe collection.

"Okay then, I'll just have to do this" He said swinging her up in to his arms. "Ready Aria?" He said over Hanna's protestations. Aria smiled at the two of them and led the way out of Spencer's barn.

When they pulled up at Hanna's apartment, Mona was just arriving and started to pull in behind Caleb. Hanna had her door open and was waiting for Caleb to come and pick her up, as Aria walked past her open door, she made a grab for her arm, and Aria leaned in to hear what Hanna had to say.

"Will you…..will you tell Mona and Emily what I said? I can't….I don't think I can do it all again and I know they have questions and they…they deserve answers but…I can't.." Aria nodded.

"Of course Han" Aria rubbed her arm and gave her a small smile. Hanna just nodded in response as Caleb appeared next to Aria. Mona approached the group casually.

"Han…you okay?" she said, noticing Hanna was still in the car and looking a little worse for wear. "God, why do they keep dressing you in terrible clothes" Caleb rolled his eyes.

"That's my sweater"

"I know" Mona said with fake sympathy.

"I'm fine" Hanna said quietly. Mona decided not to push, and when she looked to Aria she saw the girl mouthing "Tell you later" at her. She nodded and then she happened to glance down at Hanna's feet.

"What happened to her shoes?"

"We got rid of them" Aria said pointedly moving her eyes to the side at Hanna. Mona cottoned on quickly.

"I really hope they weren't the pair I think they where." Mona sighed. "Well you're lucky I always have spares. I can't be fabulous in heels all the time" she said, going back over to her car and then returning with a pair of flats that she handed to Hanna. Once Hanna had them on and was out of the car, Mona led the way up to Hanna's apartment, the others following. Hanna sticking close to Caleb and occasionally knocking in to him as she tried to keep close without being too close.

"You can take my arm if you want. That way we can stop awkwardly bumping in to each other." He winked at her. She hesitated and then wrapped an arm around his. As soon as they made it to Hanna's apartment and through the front door Hanna made a beeline for the couch, grabbing her blanket…that wasn't where she left it…and settling herself back down. Caleb grabbed the spot next to her, making a grab for the blanket, so it was settled over both of them. Hanna looked at him.

"What? I'm cold. It's a really cold night and my t-shirt is thin" Hanna didn't look like she believed him but she didn't argue either. Aria perched on the arm of the couch, and Mona sat on the edge of the coffee table.

"What did you find out?" Caleb asked. "I would have asked earlier but.."

"But you where busy freaking out, I know. And I was busy getting a car windshield fixed"

"What?" Caleb asked.

"I was on my way to Hanna when you called the first time, I just didn't know it at the time. I was following the GPS I'd planted on his car when you asked me to look in to him and then Hanna called. The second time you called I knew where she was, I just didn't think Hanna would want me to tell you. I got there and….I was little too busy to answer your calls. Hanna was just sitting there, and then she insisted on helping bury the body and I took Lucas's car to a repair shop that I know and trust. I was a little too busy to take your calls and hold your hand through your little whiny moments. The windshield is fixed, the car is clean, like it never happened, FYI" Mona said conversationally. There was a brief stunned silence and then Caleb exploded.

"You let Hanna bury the body?!" Caleb cried.

"I didn't let her do anything" Mona said holding her hands up.

"I wanted to…needed to do it Caleb" Hanna said from her spot next to him, he looked down at her and then decided to drop it. He wasn't happy about it but now wasn't the time to rehash this. He looked at Mona and made a 'continue' motion with his hand.

"Shouldn't we wait for the others?" Aria interrupted before Mona could start.

"No. They have jobs to do. Besides we'll fill them in tomorrow when we all go for brunch"

"Brunch?" Aria said, confused.

"Yes. We're all going to have brunch, and be caught on camera acting normally as if nothing is wrong" Aria raised her eyebrows. "Can I continue now?" Mona asked. Aria just nodded.

"Thank you." Mona took a breath, "Elliott Rollins is dead" Mona said simply. Hanna flinched and Caleb put his arm around her.

"We know that, thank you Mona" Caleb said acidly.

"No, not that Rollins, the real Rollins. He's been dead for fifteen years"

"Wait….what?" Aria had to ask.

"I hacked the police database and ran his name. Things didn't add up so I did some more digging. The real Dr. Elliott Rollins died fifteen years ago at the ripe old age of 72…of a stroke"

"So the guy Ali married…the guy I…I killed…" Hanna trailed off and Caleb tightened his arm around her, rubbing her arm soothingly.

"He was a fraud. He stole the real Rollins identity and has been masquerading as him for the entire time he's been here…if not longer. I have no idea who he really is." Mona said with a hint of frustration.

"Oh God" Aria went pale.

"What?"

"Emily gave the file on Rollins to Toby to look in to and he…he said he would…if he finds the same thing Mona did…"

"He will" Mona said grimly.

Aria continued, "The police are going to look in to him. He's been masquerading as a doctor…treating people….they'll think he's run like we want everyone to think and they'll…they'll look for him. They'll be determined to track him down. We set Toby and by extension…the police….on the guy we just killed" Aria finished and stared at a spot on the floor.

"I told you. I told you we'd never get away with this" Hanna said quietly. "They won't…they won't stop until they've found him…found what we did…what I did"

"No…no it's fine. We have a plan. They'll never find him. They won't find him right?" Aria asked Mona.

"I think the better question is….who the hell did you bury tonight?" Mona asked. Hanna and Aria looked at each other, brows creased in confusion. The silence was interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. Aria fished in her bag and pulled out her cell, checking the caller ID.

"It's Ezra" she murmured.

"That reminds me, with…everything last night, I forgot to ask you."

"You forgot something? So you are infallible after all" Caleb said snidely. Mona just gave him a look.

"Did you find his burner phone?"

"What burner phone?" Hanna and Aria said at the same time.

"He had a freaking burner phone and you didn't think to mention this earlier, like…I don't know….first?!" Caleb exclaimed.

"I told you. I forgot"

"You never forget anything" Caleb accused.

'I do when my best friend is practically catatonic and then insists on burying a body" Mona hissed. "I didn't realise until I was halfway to the repair shop, but nobody was answering their damn phones"

"Welcome to my world" Caleb said smugly, Mona shot him a glare.

"He didn't have it…..on him. I…I had to feel around for his badge and I….I didn't feel a second phone" Hanna broke in to their bickering.

"I'd have been surprised if it was on him"

"How…how do you know he had one?" Aria asked.

"I heard him talking on it all the time, but I couldn't hear who was on the other end. It was the only time he used his real accent. British" Mona looked at Caleb.

"The voice on the other end of the line to Mary….you said he had an accent…" Mona nodded. "Okay. tomorrow….we try and ping it, find out where it is, then we go get it and….deal with it." Caleb said decisively.

"It's like you read my mind" Mona purred.

"I'm coming too" Hanna interjected. Caleb looked like he was going to argue but Mona shook her head at him.

"Okay. We do this after your brunch or whatever"

"Agreed" Hanna, who's head had fallen on to Caleb's shoulder, let out a yawn.

"We should go" Aria finally roused herself from her thoughts.

"We'll see you tomorrow morning okay Hanna? Or…in a few hours actually" Mona said, giving Hanna a quick hug, followed by Aria, before the pair made their way out of the apartment.

Caleb moved his head to look down at Hanna.

"You must be exhausted, let's get you to bed okay Han?" Hanna just nodded and he helped her to her feet. She hugged his arm the entire walk through to her bedroom. Caleb threw back the covers on the bed and manoeuvred her on to it, extracting his arm from her grip, then Hanna settled herself back against the pillows. Once she was comfortable, Caleb pulled the blankets over her and tucked her in.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep Caleb" Hanna whispered.

"I'll leave the light on" Caleb reassured, stroking her hair.

"No, it's not that, it's just..every time I close my eyes I see….I see things, and now what happened tonight is going to be added to that, I'll just keep seeing his….he…he went through the windshield right in front of me and I couldn't move…I couldn't look away I just kept staring in to his eyes and he…he…he was…" Hanna started swiping at her face as she started to cry. Caleb sat on the bed next to her.

"Hanna-"

"That's all I'll see when I close my eyes, that and…and the barn.. and the…the only way I feel safe enough to sleep is…if…if….y-" Hanna cut herself off and swallowed. She shouldn't do this…shouldn't ask. But she couldn't help herself. "Will you….will you stay with me? Please?" Hanna asked quietly. Caleb stared at her for a few moments and then nodded.

"Of course" he said gently. "Let me lock up first okay?" Hanna nodded and Caleb did a circuit of the apartment making sure everything was switched off, all the windows where closed and the front door was locked. Then he returned to Hanna's room. He walked around to the other side of the bed, moved the covers back and slid in, making himself comfortable. Hanna rolled over to face him and buried her head in his chest, and Caleb automatically brought his arms around her.

"You can't be comfortable sleeping in that" Hanna murmured.

"Doesn't matter, I'll be fine" he said, Hanna made a sound of disagreement but was too tired to argue.

"Goodnight Caleb" she mumbled in to his chest. He smiled.

"Night Hanna, I love you" Caleb whispered and tightened his arms around her before closing his eyes. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Hanna finally felt herself drifting off to sleep. With Caleb there…she felt like she was safe, safe enough to sleep, like he'd keep the nightmares away. She wasn't afraid to close her eyes if he was there with her. It was stupid, Caleb had no control over her brain, but with him there, with his arms around her like a barrier to everything else…she felt like things would be okay. She'd be okay. Like she wouldn't see Rollins face, or wouldn't end up back in the barn. She snuggled in to his arms a little bit more and finally let sleep take her.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Hanna jerked awake later that morning, panting. As she sat there regaining her breath, calming herself down, she could feel the nightmare…feel it clinging to her like cobwebs. Caleb woke up next to her at her movement.

"I'm here…I'm right here Han." Caleb soothed, rubbing comforting circles on her back. Hanna swiped at her arms trying to get rid of the feeling that something was clinging to her off. "What is it?" he whispered.

"Nothing. Nothing…I…"

"Nightmare?" Caleb asked understandingly.

"More like a flashback I was…I was back…back there" She whispered, and Caleb gently took her hands from her arms before she hurt herself and pulled her back to him, kissing her on the forehead and holding her in his arms until they had to get up. Hanna felt far too comfortable in Caleb's arms. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to keep him safe. She didn't want things to end the way they usually did with them…she didn't want to hurt him. But she needed him more than she'd ever needed him before. She wanted him. She knew he was waiting for her, trying to make it up to her even though she didn't think he had anything to make up for. New York was her fault. Getting kidnapped was her own fault. But Caleb blamed himself and he was trying to win her back…it was working. But Hanna still had some determination left. The dead body had helped with it. Keeping him away….it was for his own good. He would see that one day. He had to. Hanna chose to ignore her first hand experience with Caleb's determination. She finally found the strength to get up and she methodically got ready to head to brunch with the girls. Making sure all of her skin was covered. She didn't have Mona's makeup skills and besides…..she felt less vulnerable with her skin covered. She walked in to the lounge to find Caleb sitting on the couch.

"Are you…are you coming to brunch?" she asked hesitantly. Part of her wanted him there. But the other part didn't want to have to rely on him so much. Wouldn't allow herself to.

"I think it's supposed to be an all girl, 'burying bodies in the woods' club kinda thing" Caleb said light heartedly, managing to get a very tiny smile out of her. "Did you want me to come?" he asked with concern.

"No. No, it's fine I was just…I was wondering…" she trailed off. Caleb nodded.

"Do you want me to drop you off? We can get Mona or Aria to be there at the same time so you don't have to be by yourself. One of them can meet you right outside?" Hanna nodded gratefully, sending a text to Mona who replied nearly immediately. When she was done she looked up to find Caleb watching her with a thoughtful and slightly hesitant look on his face.

"What?" She asked nervously. He took a breath.

"I was thinking after last night…while you're doing your brunch thing…I'm gonna go to Spencer's and get my stuff…my clothes and I'll bring it all here?" he said uncertainly, and Hanna looked away from him wanting him to stay but not wanting him involved anymore than he was as if he wouldn't involve himself and hadn't been doing that already. As if he wasn't knee deep in it with them. Sure he didn't bury the body but he knows everything.

Caleb watched Hanna, trying to gauge the expression on her face. _Dammit. Okay no asking nicely. Remember….I'm not letting her push me away and if I don't stay with her, who knows how she'll cope, I know she hates being alone. Is scared of being alone. She knows it too. So I just have to tell her. No options._ "You need me Hanna. You know it and I know it, so I'm going to get my stuff and bring it here. I'll stay here with you so you won't be alone" Caleb said, determination colouring his voice. Hanna wanted to tell him no. Tell him that she'd be fine but she couldn't bring herself to do it. _I'm so weak._

"Okay" She murmured. Caleb hid his surprise at how easily she'd given in, he'd expected more of a battle. If he was honest with himself he knew Aria or Mona would stay with Hanna but Hanna was his, he was the one that would be there for her…help her heal. Him. No-one else. He owed it to her and he wasn't going to let anyone take away his opportunity to be close to Hanna. _They can't help her like I can._

"Okay" He nodded, feigning nonchalance. "It won't take me long, and I'll go to the store and pick up some food, because honestly you need real food in your apartment. You can't live on Mona's…..junk" _Not that you're eating much of that anyway._ Hanna looked uncertain. He moved closer to her, taking her hand. "So I'll be a couple hours maybe, okay? I'll be here when you get back okay, I promise" He murmured to her and she nodded, briefly meeting his gaze, before he could lose himself in it and make her late he stepped back. "You ready to go?"

"Nearly, I just need to grab some stuff" Caleb smiled at her and Hanna tried to return it.

When she was finally ready to go, Caleb drove her there, pulling up in front of the Radley. Hanna sat nervously in the car, peering about to see if Mona was there yet, finally spotting the brunette emerging from her own car. Caleb spotted her too and steeled himself for a run in with her.

"Caleb" Mona said curtly.

"Mona. Your shoes" He said, handing her the pair of flats she'd leant Hanna. Mona took them, and shoved them in her ridiculously huge bag. "What have you got in there?"

"Nothing you need to worry about" Mona said sweetly. Caleb just shook his head.

"Take care of Hanna okay?" He asked her and Mona nodded.

"Hanna is right here you know" Hanna said, and…. _was that a hint of snark?_ Caleb and Mona found themselves grinning at each other for a few moments before they realised what they where doing and scowled.

"I'll see you later Han, be careful please" he said before Hanna got out of the car. He followed her out and around to the side of it to give her a quick hug, pleased when he felt her return it.

"I l-"

"Don't say it" Hanna mumbled. "It makes it…harder…to..to keep you away"

"That's the point, and you're not doing that good of a job anyway, remember this morning….and last night….and before that…." He smirked. Hanna flushed. Mona gagged.

"Oh please, it's too early in the morning for this" she said, but there wasn't any heat in it. Caleb gave Hanna a wink and a quick kiss on the cheek, too fast for her to object, and then he was back in his car and peeling away from the sidewalk. She thought he might have rushed off before he was tempted to stay glued to her side like he so clearly wanted to do, maybe he thought he was smothering her. She didn't know, but part of her wished he was staying. That he'd be there with her, making her feel like it was all going to be okay. That part was incredibly small compared to the part that wanted to keep him far away from the whole situation.

"Shall we?" Mona asked, offering Hanna her arm.

"We shall" She replied, taking Mona's arm and walking in to the Radley to find a nice, prominent table. Preferably near a camera.

Mona and Hanna had been the first to arrive, Aria arriving shortly after followed by Emily and Spencer. The girls had sat, attempting to eat and sipping orange juice as they filled each other in on what had happened after they'd parted ways. Mona had filled them in on Rollins identity theft the phone, Spencer convinced it was Mary on the other end…the others…not willing to rule anything out. They hadn't even touched the subject of his real identity, except to panic some more over the fact that Toby was no doubt discovering the fact any time soon. It was a matter of time before the cops where going to be on Rollins tail. They had to hope they'd done a good enough job. Everyone had been twitchy to start with and more so after Mona's information, Aria more than most, uncomfortable with the cameras, but they where necessary. Girls who murdered people and then buried their bodies in the woods didn't go for brunch bright and early the next day and drink Mimosa's and eat bagles, they reasoned. Aria…and everyone else became even more uncomfortable when they had their little reunion with Jenna. There was nothing good about Jenna being back in Rosewood. Hanna definitely could have done without her presence.

"She's scarily all seeing for a blind girl" Hanna had muttered after Jenna had walked away. She didn't like the tone of Jenna's voice when she said how nostalgic she felt, not believing for a minute the girl wasn't up to something. She had to be. Hanna was pretty damn sure nobody was feeling nostalgic, least of all Jenna, at least…not nostalgic for anything good. She didn't like Jenna being back in town at all. Especially not the morning after she'd….she'd…..buried a body. It put her more on edge than she already was and she wished Caleb had been there to deliver one of his witty put downs to Jenna. Relieve the tension that had been at the table. Make it seem less…dire. Sure…Emily could have been right..she could just be back in town for Toby but…Hanna doubted it. Or maybe she was just being overly paranoid. They where all shaken up after Jenna made her exit but it was decided that Aria and Emily would go and check on Ali. Spencer was going to find out if Toby had found anything, see if it matched up with what Mona had found…see what he and the police knew in other words. If they'd started looking yet. If there was any way to…to make them stop without looking suspicious. Hanna had doubted it but decided to let Spencer have her little moment of optimism. At least she had retained that ability, she was probably the only one who had besides Emily. Mona and Hanna retreated to Hanna's apartment and Mona proceeded to start trying to ping the phone, while Hanna fiddled nervously with her jewellery and paced. That's where they'd been for the past hour or more. Finally Mona stopped tapping at her computer and let out a frustrated sigh.

"I can't do it" she said with obvious irritation.

"What do you mean?" Mona could do everything. There was nothing she couldn't do with a computer…right?

"It's not possible, I can hack in to each cell towers database but unless I know the number, I can't-"

"You don't have to explain…I won't understand anyway" Hanna cut her off. If Caleb was here he could explain it to her. _No. Caleb doesn't need to be here…although….._

"Maybe I should call Caleb…he might be able to do it?" She said slowly.

"Han….I admit Caleb is skilled…but he's not on my level. If I couldn't do it, then he won't be able to either" Mona said with regret. "I'm sorry…I really wanted to help you" Mona swallowed hard.

"You have. Alot." Hanna said sincerely. "These last couple days have been…." Hanna looked up at the ceiling to try to stop the tears she felt prickling her eyes, trying to find the words. "Spencer was right, I didn't mix the peddles up, but I still wasted time..I…..I….hesitated." she swallowed. "There was time to stop. If I hadn't hesitated. If I hadn't…hadn't wanted to…if I'd…I'd braked faster." Hanna finally said.

"Han look…you panicked…you got confused. You saw him and all these thoughts came rushing at you, it doesn't matter if you wanted to…you didn't…you tried to stop but the brakes didn't work fast enough. You just panicked okay, anyone would have…it could happen to anyone." Hanna shook her head and bit her lip, staring at a spot on the floor so she wouldn't have to look Mona in the eye.

"I keep trying to tell myself that it was an accident. A horrible accident but, when I saw Rollins, I just…..I remember being in a cold, dark room." Hanna paused, lost in memory for a few moments before looking up at Mona imploringly, "You said I was confused but was I? Was I confused or, was I the least confused I've ever been in my life?" Mona had turned in her seat to look at Hanna. Hanna had to look away from the sympathy and pity in her eyes. Mona searched around for something to say, but she couldn't come up with anything that would make Hanna feel better. She settled on trying to help Hanna with one of her other dilemmas. The one she could solve.

"Is Caleb part of the confusion too?" She asked gently.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean….he was going crazy with worry trying to find you, and he's been glued to your side ever since I saw how he was with you after…when you came back. I know you Han. I know when you're in love and you're still in love with Caleb but you're not back together yet." Hanna shrugged.

"I can't. I can't be with him. I'll screw it all up, I always have and that was before I got kidnapped and tortured and killed someone. I know I'm going to hurt him, there's just….too much has happened"

"Hanna, you won't and Caleb doesn't care. He gets it…gets you. He's good for you Han."

"He should care, he really, really should. Look at everything that could happen, could go wrong. All I do is hurt him or cause him to get hurt and the odds of that just got higher. He should start looking out for himself"

"He'd rather look out for you. Make sure you're safe" Hanna shrugged again. "Look Han. You can't keep fighting this. Caleb is the one who's been there for you this entire time. Sure Aria and I have tried to help you…but it's been Caleb all along. Caleb's the one you need the most. You can't push him away Hanna and I really don't think he's going to let you, so you need to stop being stubborn and let him back in. It doesn't seem like you're trying very hard…"

"But if I don't keep him away….and…and things go wrong and…I lose him again…I….I….I can't lose him again Mona. In New York when I got back and he…he was gone…he'd left his phone on the table and…and I knew he was never coming back. I'd never be able to talk to him again…it nearly destroyed me Mona. It took me…it took me so long to get over him and even then…I never did. I just told myself I did. Lied to myself. If I lose him again Mona I don't think I'll be able to come back from that."

"Oh Han….you'll never be able to lose Caleb. Not this time. Can't you see that? He knows he made a mistake, he nearly lost his mind when you went missing Hanna, he did everything he could to get you back. He wouldn't stop…he wanted to rush in to the resort and go after Mary, he thought we could take her. He would have done anything Hanna, anything. He's not let you out of his sight and I don't think he ever will again. Besides he's about to move in with you" Hanna shook her head.

"It doesn't matter, history is just going to repeat itself Mona, look what happened last time we li-" She started to argue reflexively but stooped when she saw her wrist.

"What is it? Realised I'm right and your arguments are lame?" Mona teased.

"My bracelet….I was wearing a bracelet last night…a gold chain one and now….it's not here…it's not…oh God" Hanna put her hand to her head. Mona's smile vanished.

"Han…where did you have it on last?" Mona asked, the dread clear in her voice.

"Last night. In Rollins car…..I was in the back and I…I…I must have lost it in there…I..I don't know it's all a blur"

"Hanna calm down" Mona said, brain racing.

"When they find his car…when they find it they'll…they'll tear it apart searching it for clues and then…then they'll find it and they'll know what I did…they'll know it was me…if they….if they find it…"

"They're not going to" Mona said with chilling certainty. Mona stood up and grabbed her stuff, and then she was heading towards the door.

"Where are we going?" Hanna asked following her.

"We're going to his car and we're going to find that bracelet, before anyone else does." Mona opened the door and stalked out, Hanna trailing behind her. She stopped and stood staring in to her apartment. _When I get back Caleb will be here…permanently._ She swallowed at the thought, and closed the door behind her. Refusing to admit she felt even a thrill of excitement.

Hanna stood keeping a look out, nervously moving about as Mona attempted to break in to Rollins car, muttering about throwing the keys away. Train announcement and train horns sounding in the background in a muffled blur. She couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if they couldn't find her bracelet. What if she hadn't lost it in the car? What if she'd lost it when she was….when she was…touching the…the body? What if she'd caught on…on it's clothes and it was….it was with….it? What if it was buried with Rollins? Hanna could feel the panic. She took out her phone and scrolled through the contacts. She stared at the name. _Caleb. I can't call him. I can't call him for every single little thing. I'm not supposed to be getting him involved, remember?_ Her finger hovered over the call button but before she could press it, Mona made a sound of triumph and Hanna turned towards her and the car. Mona gestured her over and Hanna tried to walk over as calmly and nonchalantly as possible. As if she'd been waiting for her friend to unlock her car.

"I'll search the front, you search the back" Mona said. Hanna nodded and the pair pulled open their respective doors to begin the search. They worked in silence. Hanna's movements becoming more panicked as time went on and there was still no sign of the bracelet. _It has to be here…it has to be here…_

"All I found is a candy wrapper and a clump of hair, are you sure it's in here?" _It has to be here…._ Hanna nearly gagged at the alternative.

"Hey hand me that lock thingy will you?" Hanna ignored her question. She thought she saw something glimmer in between the two seats, but she couldn't quite reach whatever it was to get a closer look. Mona handed it to her and Hanna started to trying to hook whatever it was.

"Hanna we have to go because if a train comes before we leave…"

"Just one minute" Hanna nearly had it. _Please, please, please…please be the bracelet. Please…I don't …I can't go back to the woods..and…and…._

"In two mintues commuters are going to flood this parking lot and then see you stabbing at a seat cushion with a metal hook!" Hanna finally managed to hook it, and as she brought it out of the gap she could finally see what it was.

"Got it!" she felt relief flood her. She even managed a smile. She quickly shoved the bracelet in to her pocket, and she and Mona exited the car, slamming the doors, and walking away as calmly and inconspicuously as they could. They didn't get very far before they heard the sound of a phone ringing…it sounded like…it sounded like it was coming from the car. They turned to each other, both frowning, then turned to look at the car. They started to move towards it and the sound of ringing got louder.

"Burner phone" Mona murmured, "It has to be" she pulled open the car door. The sound was coming from the floor of the car, but….it wasn't there. Unless….Mona started to feel around, pulling up the footwell mat. She felt around some more, Hanna tried to peer in to see what was there but Mona was in the way. Mona must have found something because she sat back in the seat. Then Hanna could see it. The burner phone. They had found the burner phone. Maybe luck was on their side for once. Mona flipped the phone open without hesitation, although Hanna had no idea what Mona intended. They both paused as the voice on the other end of the line spoke.

"Hi Archer" _Archer…the man I killed….his name was Archer. Who the hell is Archer?_ "Can you hear me?" Hanna thought the voice sounded familiar but she also thought the voice might have been quoting Adele and was briefly distracted by the song ringing through her brain, although it didn't last long because the voices next sentence completely emptied her brain of all thought. "It's Jenna. Jenna Marshall" Hanna felt her eyes go wide. _How the hell does Jenna know him and his…his real identity? Stupid question Hanna….he wasn't working with Mary Drake…he was working with Jenna. Or maybe he was working with both of them._ The sound of a train pulling in to the station interrupted Hanna's thoughts.

"We need to go" Mona said, backing out of the car and slamming the door shut again. She shoved the phone in to her pocked and the pair walked towards Mona's car as commuters flooded the area.

"What do we do?" Hanna broke the silence in the car, trying very hard not to panic. "First I kill someone, then Jenna shows up and now Jenna knows Rollins…Archer. This isn't good, this is really not good"

"I don't know" Mona replied. They remained in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

"Hanna breathe!" Mona commanded and Hanna started to take deep breaths like Caleb had shown her. Mona continued once Hanna had calmed herself. "Okay, I'm going to drop you home, and then grab some stuff and I'll be right back. I'll grab some takeout too because we'll need it. You need to regain your strength. I'll call the others and…." Mona's confident diatribe trailed off as Hanna remained quiet. "Hanna….what's wrong? Caleb will be there right? You won't be by yourself" Hanna nodded, suddenly feeling nervous. _It's just Caleb. Caleb who's making it really hard to…to….never mind. There's more important things._ Hanna forced herself to speak.

"It's not that it's just…Rollins…who was he? How did he.." Mona nodded understandingly.

"It'll be fine. We'll call the other girls and we'll figure everything out." Mona tried to sound reassuring. It wasn't long before she pulled up in front of Hanna's building. "I'll see you really soon okay?" Hanna nodded and waved, watching Mona drive off briefly before the feeling of being outside…out in the open….by herself…vulnerable…sent her hurrying inside. _He's dead. I shouldn't still be feeling like this he's dead he can't…he can't hurt me anymore. Why….why do I have to keep feeling like this…why._ Hanna could feel the anxiety welling up. The entire journey to her apartment she was anxious, she should have asked Caleb to meet her outside but she didn't want to seem like even more of a basket case than she already was. Surely she could make it from the lobby up to her apartment, but apparently not. She waited to get an elevator that was empty, not wanting to be trapped in an enclosed space with strangers. _Which is ridiculous. He's dead. He. Is. Dead._ Hanna focused on her breathing. _Caleb's here…everything will be fine. Caleb's moving in._ _I won't be alone again. I just need to make it to the apartment. This is ridiculous. I'm such a….such a…._ she couldn't think of a word to describe what she was but it was pathetic. Last night she'd managed to leave and get to Spencer's by herself…. _yeah and look what happened._ She blocked the thought out, focusing on Caleb instead. Caleb moving in…she knew it wasn't the same as before…but it still made her nervous. Being around Caleb so much…it would make it so much harder…but then…was she even trying anymore?

She unlocked the door to the apartment, took a deep breath and walked inside, practically slamming the door behind her and whirling to make sure it was locked. She turned and looked around the room, Caleb wasn't there.

"Caleb?" She called. Silence. Hanna felt the anxiety that had only just started to ebb well up again. _He should have been back by now. He should have been back but he's not here….he said he'd be back. He promised. He promised he'd be back by the time I was._ She checked her phone but there where no messages. Hanna clutched her phone in her hand. "Caleb?" She called again. _Maybe he's in the shower again. He said he'd be here. He wouldn't…he wouldn't break that promise._ Hanna reassured herself and went to check the bathroom. He wasn't there. Everything was as she'd left it earlier. She checked the other rooms in the apartment. Caleb wasn't in any of them. "Caleb…this isn't funny" she called. She knew deep down Caleb wouldn't play a joke on her, not like this…not after what had happened to her. But she still went back through the apartment checking each room, each possible hiding place, under the bed…in closets and cupboards…looking for Caleb, trying to stave off the panic. Making sure he wasn't hiding even though she knew he wouldn't do that to her. Making sure she was alone in the apartment. Switching every single light on so the place was flooded and there where no patches of darkness for anything to hide in.

She dialled his number. No answer. She hadn't heard his phone ringing in the apartment. So he hadn't left it behind like….like….she cut the trail of thought off. This was nothing like New York.

_Where is he? Where is he…he said…he said…..he said he wouldn't leave he said….he said he'd be here…._

She knew she was being irrational, jumping to conclusions but she couldn't help it. She was alone and she hadn't been alone…not fully alone since she was taken. And he'd said he would be here…said he wouldn't let her down again. She couldn't stop the thoughts taking over her as the anxiety she'd been trying to keep at bay took over, as she felt the panic mix with it and overtake her.

What if he'd left her again? What if he'd lied? What if he'd seen how damaged she was and he'd finally…he'd finally decided to leave? What if he'd said he was going to get his stuff but he'd…he'd seen an opportunity to leave, to get away from her…and he'd taken it? He's said he didn't care, that he wouldn't leave but she was so much…so much trouble right now. She wasn't…she wasn't her usual self, what if he…what if he…. _what if he's left me? What if let him down again?_

Hanna backed up to the wall in the lounge, between the windows, and slid down it until she was huddled on the floor staring at the door, trying to control her panicked breathing. But she wasn't seeing the door. She wasn't seeing anything except for New York.

_"If you go, I'm not gonna be here when you get back"_

_He doesn't mean it. He's just angry._

_"I'm leaving today. I can't keep doing this"_

Hanna squeezed her eyes shut.

_Running through the rain, suitcase bumping along behind her._

_Needing to get to him._

_Throwing open a door._

_Empty._

_"Caleb" Calling for him._

_Silence._

_Empty rooms._

_Empty hangars._

_Dialling his number. Needing to get to him before it was too late._

_A strange sound._

_A phone vibrating on wood. She didn't want to acknowledge it but she turned._

_Smiling faces staring up at her as her heart broke in to a million pieces._

Hanna could feel a tear start to slide down her cheek.

_Gone._

_He was gone._

_He was gone and he wasn't coming back. She'd never talk to him again. See him again._

"Caleb" she cried.

_"Stop it please….stop….please..stop it. I don't know…I don't know, please. Caleb….Caleb….Caleb please help me…..please….Caleb…."_

_"CALEB WHERE ARE YOU. Stop it…please"_

Hanna sat, struggling to breathe, choking on her sobs, staring at the door but not really seeing it, she was trapped in memories.

_"Caleb please…please…Caleb I need you, please"_

"Caleb….Caleb I need….I need you" She choked out. She was calling for him…but he wasn't coming.

_He said….he said…he promised….._

She repeated his name over and over, clutching her phone to her chest.

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe and Caleb wasn't here…he wasn't here…he'd…he'd left her and he wasn't here.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Caleb made his way up to Hanna's apartment in a rush. He was late. He knew he was late. He was hoping Hanna wasn't back yet, because he knew she didn't like to be left alone as much as she tried to get rid of him. He'd been telling himself Hanna would be fine because she'd be with Mona. Mona wouldn't leave Hanna alone. _But what if she had because she thought I'd be back any minute? What if they'd got a lead on the phone and Mona had just dropped her back assuming I'd be here and didn't know that I wasn't._ His thoughts went around and around in his head. He felt awful, he said he'd only be a couple hours and he'd figured he'd be back before her. His stupid phone had died so he couldn't even let her know he was on his way. Caleb ignored the elevator and ran up the stairs, bags swinging from his hands.

He'd had no problems gathering his stuff together at Spencer's, it hadn't taken that long. Well it would have been faster if he wasn't dancing around humming to himself, but the happiness just wouldn't stay in. He was moving in with Hanna….sort of..but he'd take it. He'd carelessly thrown all of his clothes in to a couple of rucksacks and holdalls. Taking more care with his computer and various gadgets. He'd combed through the barn to make sure he had everything and then he'd taken the bags out to his car and shoved them in the back. Done. He'd been right on time. Mona had texted him to tell him that she and Hanna where going ahead with pinging the phone and that he wasn't needed and they'd be a little longer. That had pissed him off but he had to acknowledge that Mona was more skilled in that particular art than he was. So he'd let it go. Hanna would be with Mona..and Caleb still had stuff to do and now he had time to go all out. He'd driven to the store, and spent a long time picking out all the foods he knew Hanna liked and the ingredients needed to make more of the food that Hanna liked. Hoping that having her favourite foods to hand would entice her to eat a bit more, and it would make him feel a tiny bit better if she did. So he'd grabbed a shopping cart and loaded it up. By the time he'd checked out he was cutting it a little fine.

Mona had texted again to say she and Hanna had to 'go do something' and had refused to elaborate. She just said they'd be a couple hours but it wasn't exact and he wanted to make sure he was there. Maybe he'd gotten a bit too carried away with the grocery shopping. Not that he'd admit it to anyone except Hanna. Groceries stowed in the car he'd turned to his final task. Takeout. Hanna's favourite Tai takeout to be precise. The ultimate temptation for her. He'd wandered in to the restaurant and placed the order, and then had some time to kill while he waited. He'd been twitchy, figuring it was about time for Hanna to be back and starting to worry he wouldn't be there on time, he'd been repeating to himself that Mona would be there…Mona wouldn't leave her and he'd been pacing up and down in front of a row of store fronts, as he'd turned to pace back the other way on one of his many circuits…he'd spotted it. It was perfect. It was exactly right….in every single way. He'd stared at it. Sensible thoughts tried to crowd in to his head but he shoved them out. There would be a day when it was necessary and he wanted to be prepared. He didn't want to wish he'd gotten it. He wanted to have it ready. So he'd rushed in to the store. Luck had been with him. It took a little longer than he'd been expecting to sort out the details but he'd walked out of the store a little while later with it stashed away, feeling euphoric. He'd gone back to pick up the takeout, which hadn't been waiting that long. Then he'd headed back to the apartment. Hitting every red light on the way and getting stuck behind every slow driver. He knew he shouldn't have wasted time in that store but he couldn't…he couldn't walk away from it. He'd parked hurriedly and rushed out of the car. He hadn't seen any lights on in Hanna's apartment but he'd hurried up to it anyway with as many bags as he could carry. He'd grabbed his stuff, the takeout and as many of the food bags as he could manage. He figured he'd come back for the rest, shortly.

He finally made it to the front door of Hanna's apartment. He fished around in his pocket for the spare key, found it and put it in the lock. He bustled in and gratefully dumped the bags down on the floor, making sure to place the takeout on the table. The sound of the bags and his bustling must have blotted it out because once he'd placed them down, he'd turned to exit the apartment to go grab the rest of his groceries..and he'd heard it.

Panicked breathing, mixed with sobs and….his name? He was confused for a split second but then it clicked.

"He's gone…he's gone…he's gone…..Caleb….gone…"

 _Oh no._ "Hanna?" Caleb called, reaching for the light switch. He fumbled around before finally hitting it and the lights flickered on, illuminating the scene before him. He swept his gaze around but it took him only seconds to spot her.

She was sitting with her back to the wall, clutching her phone in her hand, and holding it to her chest. Like she was hugging it. Tears washed down her face and her chest was heaving. He wasn't sure if she was even seeing him.

"Caleb…..Caleb please…" she choked out. He felt his heart clench and he swiped at his face. _Dammit, when am I going to stop screwing this up._ He could have blamed Mona and her lack of communication…lack of time frames but he knew he was really the one to blame because he'd spent too much time in that store.

"Han? Han I'm right here" he said calmly as he slowly approached her, not wanting to startle her.

No reaction. She continued to sob, calling for him again and again and Caleb realised she wasn't in the apartment. She was back in the barn. He slowly crouched down next to her.

"Caleb….help me…Caleb" she cried. He swallowed. He settled himself down on the floor next to her carefully, so he was seated as close to her as he could be without touching her.

"Han?" He said a little louder. "Han it's me"

"Please Caleb, I'm sorry….I'm so sorry I let you down, please" Caleb frowned, he wasn't sure this was anything to do with the barn. _What? …oh._ "Please come back, please, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Caleb please come back…please….please…please don't leave me" Hanna sobbed out. Caleb decided to chance startling her and he wrapped his arms around her pulling her swiftly in to his lap. He stroked her hair, feeling tears slide down his face.

"It's okay Han. I'm here. You didn't let me down. I'm right here" He repeated soothingly. Trying to make sure his voice sounded steady. He wasn't sure how long they sat like that. Him murmuring his apology again and again. Telling her he was there, that he wouldn't leave her again. _I'm sorry Hanna, I'm so sorry. You where worried about hurting me again but I just keep hurting you._ He felt Hanna's breathing slowly start to calm down as he held her tightly, stroking her hair over and over. Hanna shifted in his arms, tilted her head up to look at him. She looked exhausted, tears staining her face and he felt his heart crack.

"Caleb?" she whispered, "You came back" she smiled weakly.

"I never left Han. Not really, I got caught up with something and it made me late back, and I….I broke my promise to you. I'm so sorry Hanna, I didn't…I….I'm sorry" he struggled to find the words. Caleb tightened his hold, pulling her closer to his chest.

"It's…it's okay. I…I..the dark freaked me out, and getting up here alone..and I…then you weren't here and I…I thought…I thought you'd left me again. I thought you'd gotten tired of how….how broken I am. I-I-I Thought I'd let you down again." she whispered. Caleb closed his eyes and wanted to punch himself in the face. Actually..he wouldn't have to. Mona would probably oblige when she found out. Aria might even take a turn too.

"Hanna. Listen to me. You never, ever let me down okay. I'm the one who let you down. I shouldn't have left, I should have stayed and talked it out, leaving like I…leaving my phone it was childish and…and…rash and I regretted it but it was too late and then…" Caleb trailed off frustrated at himself. "I let you down then and I let you down when I left you in that room alone. I went along with the plan, it was my job to keep you safe, I told you I would. I should have stayed with you in that room, found a way to hide in there, I never should have left you alone. I should have been close. Then tonight…I thought I'd make it back in time, but I saw the…..that store and I… I keep letting you down Han. Again and again." Caleb moved a hand to cup her cheek, as she tilted her head to look at him. "You could never, ever let me down Hanna" he murmured, thumb stroking her cheek. Hanna didn't look like she believed him. He knew what she thought, and she was wrong. "One day I'll make you believe me" Caleb promised her. Hanna nodded absent mindedly and looked around the apartment with wide eyes, avoiding his gaze but making no move to get out of his hold.

"I….I….it was like the apartment vanished and I was in New York and then the….the barn and then New York. I don't know…..I don't…I panicked. I was already anxious and then….I couldn't find you. I checked the entire apartment but I knew you weren't here, and it was like New York all over again and-" Caleb opened his mouth to apologise again but Hanna rolled right over him, "No. Don't apologise again. I get it. I know you're sorry, I just….I'm sorry you came back to me like…this. I just…I freaked out. I thought you'd left me, and it's like my brain just….it took over it…it made me see New York and the Barn and it was like I was re-living it on a loop and I couldn't get out…until you." Hanna said the last part softly. She let out a humourless laugh. "What the hell is wrong with me? Lucas has this insane security system but I still….I still….I couldn't even get up to turn the lights on because it was dark, and I'm an adult who's terrified of the freaking dark. All I could think about was getting my back to a wall so he couldn't come up behind me, so I wouldn't be…wouldn't be vulnerable. Which is ridiculous because I knew no-one was here and….and….he couldn't get to me anyway because he's dead. I killed him. I buried his…I buried his body. Then I kept seeing….seeing…" Caleb squeezed her.

"Shhh Han, it's all my fault okay. There's nothing wrong with you" Caleb comforted. Hanna snorted.

"Seriously Caleb?"

"Well…okay, yeah. There is something wrong with you Hanna, but it's not something you should be ashamed of. Han…it shows you survived. All this terrible stuff happened to you….but you survived it. You're still here. You're still fighting. I know it's awful, I know it's hard. But you'll….we'll get through this. Together. It'll be okay" Caleb murmured. Hating himself for bringing Hanna back to this place when she'd been doing kind of good after her recent outpouring to Aria and Spencer and…him. Technically. "You even managed to leave the apartment to help your friends and prove to yourself you could" Hanna let out a weak chuckle.

"And look how that turned out" He felt her shudder and resumed stroking her hair, hoping to keep her anchored in the moment.

"Han. The dude had it coming. We don't even know who he really is. You have nothing to feel bad for. He tortured you. Who knows what he wanted to do to Ali, he was chasing her down in the woods so it can't have been good. He made her think she was crazy. He wasn't a good person."

"I know Caleb…I know but I still….I still…"

"After what he did to you, no-one could blame you for hesitating Hanna. Anyone would have. We've been over this Hanna. I love your big heart, but I also kinda hate it right now because it's making you feel horrible for killing a guy that was just….evil. You even…buried the guy" Caleb tried to keep the anger out of his voice. He still couldn't believe the girls had let her do it.

"I had to Caleb. I….it was like everything was happening really far away and I couldn't stop staring at him…in to his eyes. He was right in front of me and they moved him and then Mona was there and they'd….they'd dug a whole and I had…I had to do something. I couldn't just sit there anymore and I had bury him. I needed to. Because…because I felt bad and because I….I wanted to make sure he was dead. Make sure he was really there in that grave. I needed to see him be buried Caleb" Hanna whispered.

"I get it Han. I do. I just wish….you hadn't had to do it" Caleb said. Hanna nodded.

"I'm really sorry Caleb. For…for tonight and…and everything" she said, sniffling.

"Don't you dare apologise to me, you have nothing to apologise for Hanna. Not to me" Caleb said vehemently. "This…tonight..this was all me. I made a promise to you and I broke it and I'm….I'm so sorry Hanna"

"It's not your fault Caleb, you can't be with me every second of every day"

"No but I can try" Caleb said seriously. Hanna smacked him on the arm.

"Don't be stupid" Hanna said absent mindedly bringing up the hand that had ended up on his arm, up to his face. He leaned in to her hand. But before he could respond a voice rang out from the doorway.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

"Why the hell is your door open Han? Anyone could just walk on in here" Mona hurried in through the door, equipment practically spilling out of her arms. Hanna's hand dropped from his face and Caleb suppressed a groan.

"Oh look…..they just did" Caleb snarked, feeling the sharp dig of Hanna's elbow in his ribs. Mona came to a dead stop as she spotted them.

"What happened?" Mona asked. She took in their position, the tear streaked faces and she levelled Caleb with a stare, "What the hell did you do!?" Mona said pretty menacingly for someone of her height. Caleb took a breath.

"Look, Mona, I already feel crappy enough okay so whatever you're gonna say just…don't." Caleb sighed, Mona tapped her foot. Waiting. "I was running late, I got….distracted by something. I wasn't here when you dropped Han back I don't know…I don't know how long she was here" Caleb swallowed. He felt Hanna put one of her hands over his and squeeze.

"It's okay Caleb" she whispered.

"No. It's not" he whispered back, forcefully. Hanna's hand made it's way back up to his cheek.

"I forgive you….I always forgive you" She whispered.

"Why?" Caleb couldn't keep the confusion out of his voice. Right then..he really didn't get why Hanna always forgave him, looking back on some of the stuff he'd pulled…

Hanna sighed.

"Because I love you" Caleb started to smile, "Even when I don't want to. Even when I want to hate you because it'd be easier to keep you away"

"You know you could never keep me away again right?" Caleb smiled down at Hanna, "You're kinda stuck with me"

"Hello. Still here" Mona said from the front of the apartment.

"You don't have to be" Caleb shot back. "But seeing as you're here…I need to run back to my car and grab some of the bags I left in there, I got way too much food" Caleb started to get up but Hanna gripped on to his shirt. "Han?" he looked down at her.

"Don't go" she whispered

"Han…"

"I know…I know you just need to go to the car and back…..that you'll be back but….please don't go right now" Hanna pleaded. Caleb looked from her, but before he could respond Mona cut in.

"It's okay. I'll go grab them, I saw your car as I came in" Caleb looked up at Mona.

"Thank you" He said sincerely. Mona just nodded, placed her stuff on the table and headed out of the apartment lacking her usual….Mona-ness. Caleb's brow furrowed. _What's up with that?_ He wondered, before Hanna drew his attention back to her.

"I should tell you….earlier, Mona couldn't ping the phone but I…I realised I'd lost my bracelet and we had to go to….to his car to look for it…"

"Tell me you found that bracelet, because I'm really not in the mood to play grave robber right now" Caleb tried to joke. Hanna nodded.

"Yeah, it was down between the two back seats. But as we where walking away…we heard a phone ring and we…"

"You found the burner phone" Caleb finished. Hanna nodded again.

"Mona answered and it…it was Jenna" Caleb felt confusion wash over him.

"How the hell…." _How the hell does she get involved in everything!?_

"I know. But that's not all…she called him Archer. His real name…it was Archer" Hanna whispered. _Who the hell is Archer? How does he know Jenna?!_ Caleb didn't voice the questions he had swirling in his head. He figured Hanna had mulled over them plenty.

"Okay, so Mona's here to crack the phone right? It's what I'd do" Hanna nodded, but yawned before she could say anything. Caleb figured she must be exhausted after last night…this morning…the freak out he'd caused.

"I think it's time for you to go to bed" Caleb said.

"I'm not a kid Caleb. And I'm not tired" Hanna folder her arms, but the effect was ruined by the fact she was still settled in his lap. That and the yawn that broke free not long after. Caleb chuckled.

"C'mon Han. It's been an exhausting day…night…whatever"

"No. We have his burner phone, we need to….to….Mona it"

"Mona it?"

"You know…Mona it…whatever she does with phones to make them tell all their secrets" Caleb laughed. Their bickering was interrupted by Mona's return. She dumped the final bags on the floor and closed the apartment door behind her.

"What's so funny?"

"Hanna wants you to 'Mona' the phone" Caleb chuckled. Mona frowned in confusion.

"Just…we need Mona to…to…"

"Mona the phone" Caleb snickered. Hanna slapped his arm again.

"Shut up! Mona knows what I mean" Mona nodded uncertainly.

"Sure Han…." Hanna let out another yawn. Caleb opened his mouth to speak but Hanna cut him off.

"Don't say it Caleb" Caleb looked at her innocently, then burst in to laughter when she yawned in his face.

"Han…we can do this tomorrow. It's been an exhausting twenty four hours" Mona chimed in from her new place on the couch.

"No. We need to do this now. Jenna..she could know…she could…could…" another yawn.

"Han. It'll be fine for a few hours while we sleep. Besides…I should probably come up with a plan of attack anyway" Mona said reassuringly. Hanna didn't look convinced.

"But you came all the way back here….." Hanna trailed off in to a yawn. Caleb jumped in.

"Mona can stay here. You can grab some sleep and then when you wake up….you can help Mona crack the phone" Hanna looked at him skeptically.

"I don't think Mona needs my help"

"No, I don't. But you could help keep me hydrated" Mona said encouragingly. Hanna glared between the two of them.

"Fine. But you'd better be ready in the morning" Hanna threatened. Caleb smothered his laugh and saw Mona attempt to the same thing. Hanna was about as threatening as a pair of bunny slippers in that moment. Caleb got to his feet and helped Hanna up.

"I'll just put everything away and then I'll be right in" Caleb told Hanna, gesturing to all the bags. Hanna looked around, an anxious expression crossing her face.

"Okay" She tried for brave but her voice wavered a bit. Caleb looked at her. She leaned in to him. "I just….after this..this whole thing I…I…I….I need…" Caleb decided to take pity.

"Why Hanna Marin, are you trying to say you need me?!" Caleb let out a fake gasp of shock. Hanna rolled her eyes, then nodded briefly.

"I just…the dark and….when I'm alone…and tonight with the…the flashbacks and-"

"Tell you what Han. I'll deal with the groceries, if you help Caleb put his stuff away. His ratty bags are…offending me" Mona affected a sneer. Caleb would have snapped back but he was too grateful to her for helping him out. He hadn't been sure what to say to Hanna. For the first time it actually seemed like she wanted him glued to her side. And it was his fault because he'd brought the barn back to the surface of her memories.

"Let me make up the couch first" Caleb directed at Mona who gave him a nod.

"I'll help!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Nope. You're gonna sit and eat the Tai takeout I got you. Your favourite so no excuses" Caleb said, steering her to a chair at the table and placing the bag in front of her. He unpacked the various cartons and placed them in front of Hanna, Mona tossing a fork on to the table. Hanna surveyed the cartons and rubbed her stomach as if she was queasy. Caleb leaned in to whisper to her. "Please Hanna? You need to keep up your strength and it worries me when you don't eat" Hanna nodded. "It'd be a shame to waste it" She smiled at Caleb and he smiled back, kissing her on the crown of her head. As he went to get the spare sheets he pointed at Mona who had been eyeing up the food.

"Don't eat any of her takeout!"

"Oh I won't….I'll eat yours" she smiled sweetly. Caleb rolled his eyes and waved his hand in a 'whatever' gesture. When he came back with the sheets and pillows, plus a pair of Hanna's sweats and an old tshirt of hers, Hanna had actually eaten a fair amount of the food, and Mona, true to her word had eaten some of his. Not that he cared, he wasn't even remotely hungry after what he'd put Hanna through this evening. He dumped his bundle on the couch.

"I'll do that! Here….I saved you some of mine" Hanna said, flushing. It was adorable. Caleb took the plate and sat down in Hanna's vacated seat. Hanna moved off to the couch to make it up for Mona, keeping Caleb in her line of sight.

"So..go on then" Caleb prompted her, picking at the food. Mona raised an eyebrow. "Oh c'mon Mona, we both know you've got a few choice words to say to me after this evening, believe me, it's nothing I haven't thought about myself, but go ahead."

"Actually…I don't" Mona said quietly. Caleb looked up at her in surprise. "This isn't actually your fault. It's mine" Caleb's eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

"How do you figure? I was the one that wasn't where he promised he'd be"

"And I was the one who didn't check if you where back yet. I just assumed. No. I didn't assume." Mona shook her head. "I got so caught up in finding the burner phone, having a clue, having something to go on….information that we need right there in my hand….I got carried away and I didn't think. I didn't think at all, I just dumped her on the sidewalk and I should have walked her up and made sure you where back but I was too focused on this stupid phone" Mona said with frustration. Caleb sighed.

"You know what? I think we've beaten ourselves up enough for the both of us, so rather than arguing about who's more at fault….why don't we both take the blame and call it quits?" Caleb said, shoving some food in his mouth. Mona reluctantly nodded, Caleb returning it.

"What are you talking about?" Hanna asked as she approached them, task finished.

"Nothing" They both said, before promptly shoving food in their mouths. Hanna looked at them suspiciously. "Okay well…the couch is ready and Caleb found you something to sleep in" Mona looked at Caleb with a touch of surprise.

"Thank you" she said sincerely. Caleb actually smiled at her. "You're welcome"

"You guys go, I'll put this away and then turn in" Mona smiled at Hanna. Hanna impulsively grabbed the smaller girl in a hug. Caleb could see Mona return it tightly. He grabbed up the bags with all of his stuff in and headed for the bedroom, Hanna trailing behind and Mona starting to pack stuff away.

It didn't take long to put Caleb's stuff away. They moved some of Hanna's clothes, so Caleb could have a couple of drawers to himself. He didn't like to hang up anything in the wardrobe….not after earlier. It would be too much like New York. So he'd squeezed everything in to a couple of drawers and left some in one of his holdalls. Once Hanna had said Goodnight to Mona, who'd finished up her task in record time and was settling in for the night, and gotten ready for bed, Caleb took his toiletries in to Hanna's bathroom, placing the wash bag on the windowsill. He got ready for bed in record time and came out to find Hanna waiting for him. Caleb found himself inexplicably nervous as he entered the room and made his way to the bed. He paused.

"Do you want the light on Han?" Hanna shook her head.

"No….no I need to…no." she took a breath. "I'll be fine as long as you're here" she said quietly. Caleb smiled and flicked off the lights before returning to the bed, pulling the covers back and settling himself in.

"Caleb?" Hanna whispered, feeling about for him with her hand. He caught it and pulled her towards him.

"I'm right here Han. I'm not going anywhere" he whispered, as she snuggled in to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and waited until Hanna was asleep before allowing himself to drift off after her.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Caleb lay in bed the next morning waiting for Hanna to wake up. Normally he'd get up and get started on breakfast but he wanted to be there when she woke up. So she wouldn't think he'd left again. He watched her, he couldn't help himself, even though he knew it was insanely creepy. She looked peaceful when she was asleep. He brushed some of the hair off her face, and she stirred under his touch.

"Morning" he smiled at her. She smiled sleepily back.

"Hey. How long have you been awake?"

"Not long" Caleb shrugged.

"Is Mona up yet?"

"I don't know Hanna, I haven't developed X-ray vision" Caleb grinned playfully. Hanna rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. We should get up and help her do…whatever it is she does"

"Honestly Hanna, even I don't think I can help Mona. I think it's best if we just sit back and let her do her thing"

"But I want to help her"

"And you can…you can be her intern. Make her…tea or whatever" Hanna nodded but went quiet. "What is it?"

"I've been thinking about….about work" she started tentatively.

"Look, Han, if you want to go back, don't let me stop you. It won't be like before. But…I still think you should consider Lucas's offer. He's not the only one who believes in you, you know?" Caleb smiled. Hanna narrowed her eyes.

"Well if you stopped interrupting me, I'd be able to tell you my decision" She snapped. Caleb held his hands up in surrender.

"Sorry, just trying to be supportive" Hanna just looked at him. "Shutting up now" he said, making a 'continue' motion.

"Like I was _trying_ to say. I….I don't want to go back to work. I want…I want to take Lucas up on his offer. I don't have much control over anything thanks to A or A D or whoever. But….what Lucas is offering me….it's my chance. My chance to do what I want and to…to take back some control in some area of my life"

"Good for you Han" Caleb hugged her.

"I'm gonna sign the papers this morning"

"Lucas is gonna be so stoked. Hey!" Caleb exclaimed, turning to Hanna, "You can do your business plan while Mona's….Mona-ing. Lucas is gonna need one. I can help you" Caleb said encouragingly.

Hanna thought for a few moments.

"Alright. But I still want to help Mona" Caleb didn't want to outright say that she would be more of a hinderance to Mona than a help so he just smiled.

"I'm sure she'll appreciate it. But try to focus on the business plan okay?" Hanna just nodded and Caleb hugged her again before getting out of bed to get dressed. Once he was ready for the day, he left Hanna to get ready and headed out in to the main living space. Mona was sat at the table, tapping at a computer, the burner phone hooked up to something.

"Morning" Caleb greeted her. Mona nodded in acknowledgement, engrossed in her task. "Hanna's awake you know….and determined to help you"

"I figured. Sorry for not rushing on in there as soon as I heard you talking but…there are some things I don't need to see. Especially this early in the morning" Mona said distractedly.

"Hey. Nothing happened alright? Nothing like…that is going on right now. She knows I love her and I know she loves me but for now…she just needs time to heal" Mona just waved a hand at him, having probably not heard a word he said and he sighed. _Whatever._ What he'd said had been the truth, whether Mona had heard it or not…believed it or not. Hanna needed him to be there for her and if that meant just holding her while she slept…then he'd do it. He'd do anything. He wasn't going to rush her, he knew she loved him and that was enough for right now. "Be nice when Hanna offers to help okay?" Mona spared him a brief 'duh' look, before returning to her task. "Have you eaten breakfast?" Caleb continued his one sided conversation. Mona nodded and gestured to a half empty coffee cup and an empty banana skin. Caleb just rolled his eyes. _Well. I tried. That's the hospitality taken care of._ He helped himself to a bowl of cereal and watched Mona work. She was furiously typing, he briefly wondered if he should offer to help but figured he'd just get his head bitten off. Hanna joined the pair not long after.

"Mona, you started without me!" Hanna cried. Mona actually looked up from her screen to make eye contact with Hanna. Caleb rolled his eyes.

"Sorry Han, I was up early and I wanted to get started….what's that?" Mona gestured to the papers in Hanna's hand. Hanna looked down.

"Oh….Lucas's contract. I….I signed it. Just now." Mona beamed.

"That's great Han! Just like you've always dreamed about!" Mona's computer made a beeping noise and she turned back to it.

"Proud of you" Caleb murmured to her, kissing her on the side of the head. Mona made a noise of disapproval. _Oh. So she was listening. She just chose to ignore me. Typical._ Hanna smiled up at him and he returned it, ignoring Mona right back.

"So. How can I help?" Hanna asked Mona eagerly. Caleb glanced at Mona.

"Honestly Han, I think I got it covered, but if you could keep me supplied with caffeine….that'd be perfect" Mona said gently. Hanna nodded.

"I'll…I'll get started on this business plan thingy then" Hanna stated, "But if you need me to look anything up…addresses or anything…just…I want to help Mona"

"I know you do Han. You'll be my go to girl" Mona smiled at her, and Hanna returned it before settling down at the table with a notebook and pen. _This is gonna be a long day._ Caleb thought to himself as he sipped a cup of coffee.

"I'VE GOT SOMETHING!" Mona screeched a few hours later, making Caleb jump a foot in the air and Hanna who'd been attempting to do her business plan with help from Caleb, let out a shriek of surprise.

"Mona don't do that, please" Hanna said faintly. Mona looked sheepish.

"Sorry Han, but I've got something. Call whoever you need to call…this is big" Mona said staring avidly at her screen. Hanna looked at Caleb.

"Aria?" Caleb nodded, pulling out his phone. The three sat in tense silence, Mona tapping away at her keyboard, until there was a knock at the door. Hanna tried really hard not to start at it. Caleb jumped up from his seat and rushed to open the door, coming back moments later with Aria in tow.

"Hey guys! Han, you doing okay?" Aria asked her with a smile. Hanna nodded.

"Mona's got something, but she wouldn't tell us what until you got here" Hanna narrowed her eyes at an oblivious Mona.

"Well I got something too" Aria said slowly, grabbing Mona's attention. She looked around at the three of them. "After you called I tried to get hold of Emily and Spencer. Emily didn't answer she has that exam, but Spencer did. She couldn't make it, something about Jenna…. but she did tell me that she saw some cops in The Brew this morning" Hanna stiffened, Caleb and Mona exchanged looks.

"They found the car?" Mona asked. Aria nodded.

"There's also this" Aria held up a newspaper page, an article on Rollins visible. Hanna shuddered and Caleb squeezed her shoulder. "Spencer said the cops are withholding information, which means they think he's still alive and on the run. According to her..they're doing exactly what we want" Aria said, but it didn't relieve the nervous tension that sprung up in the room.

"It's gonna be okay Han" Mona said reassuringly. Hanna didn't look convinced but she didn't argue either. A text alert sounded throughout the room, everyone stiffened, then dug their phones out. Caleb waved his.

"It's me. From Lucas. I told him you signed the papers and he's pretty eager for that business plan…wants it by tomorrow" Caleb told Hanna. Hanna nodded.

"You signed? Congrats Han!" Aria said excitedly. Hanna thanked her and then turned to Mona.

"So. What did you find?" Mona cracked her knuckles and returned her gaze to her screen.

"There's a location besides his car where he used this phone a lot, I'm still trying to pin point it but it's looking promising. It shouldn't take much longer."

"That's it?" Caleb asked, arching an eyebrow.

"No. I figured I'd start with the good news first. There's a lot of potential with that…it could be full of information that we need" Mona defended.

"Okay, so….until then what else did you get?" Aria interrupted her.

"I recovered his deleted texts and I found something…odd." Mona scrolled through the burner phone then turned the screen to show the three of them clustered around the table.

**555-0171**

**Alison didn't kill Charlotte.**

They stared.

"So…he knew she didn't kill Charlotte?" Aria said, brows creased in confusion. Mona paused and glanced at Hanna.

"What?"

"Han…I'm not sure you want to hear the next part" Mona said, worried.

"I want to know. Whatever it is…I want to know" Mona glanced at Caleb who nodded, and then continued.

"He sent that the night he took Alison out of Welby…"

"…which means he wasn't taking her somewhere to kill her" Aria finished. Caleb saw Hanna stiffen.

"Han. It doesn't matter. We don't know that for sure, after what he did to her, whether she killed Charlotte or not, I don't think he had good intentions either way. Besides…look at everything else he did. Okay? You don't need to feel guilty about this" Caleb paused then amended what he said, "You don't need to feel _even more_ guilty" Hanna looked down.

"Han…you don't need to feel guilty. He was a….a…" Aria struggled to find words.

"I know, okay. I know. I just…I can't help it. He was alive one minute….living his life…"

"Torturing people….making them think they where crazy…running people down through the woods…."

"Not helping Mona" Caleb snapped.

"I….I killed him and….I shouldn't care but part of me does because he's someone's…someone's son…brother….whatever else. I killed someone." Caleb put a comforting arm around Hanna's shoulders.

"Han. You care because you're a kind and caring person and it's…it's amazing that what he put you through didn't take that away from you" Aria said. Caleb and Mona nodded at her words.

"Sometimes I wish I didn't care" Hanna mumbled.

"But then you wouldn't be you" Caleb murmured, "And I love you, the you that you are" Caleb said. Hanna frowned.

"That made no sense"

"Well it did to me" Caleb replied, chuckling. The pair turned back to Mona and Aria.

"So…who's number is it?" Caleb asked.

"I have no idea. There's no names in the contact list, my best guess? The number belongs to another burner phone" Mona finished grimly.

"Can you trace it?" Aria asked. Mona shook her head. Silence reigned in the apartment for a few moments.

"How the hell did he know Alison didn't kill Charlotte?" Caleb finally broke the silence.

"I've been trying to see if his phone gave me any clues…but so far nothing and it's not looking optimistic" Mona said.

"And if I hadn't killed him…we could have just asked him" Hanna said, shaking her head.

"As if he'd give us a straight answer. Who knows what would have happened in those woods if you hadn't…" Aria trailed off. "Either way there's no point dwelling on it" she finished. Caleb was well aware that Hanna felt guilty that Ali had been handed over to safe her…and knowing for sure she was innocent? That probably wasn't helping with the guilt either. He couldn't believe that after everything…the Dollhouse….the Barn…Hanna had still managed to keep the essence of her. She was still kind, caring….she still had the ability to feel bad for killing someone who'd done terrible things to her. _She really is an amazing person._ He thought to himself.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Aria had left after hanging out for a while, chatting to Hanna about her business plan and other safe topics. Topics that had nothing to do with any of the number of terrible things going on in their lives right then. Hanna perked up when she was talking to Aria, she got excited talking about her business plan. It was the most like her old self he'd seen in a while and Aria had been nothing but encouraging. She'd eventually had to head out though. Caleb had originally planned on just putting Aria on speaker, but Aria had insisted on coming over. Caleb suspected she wanted to check on Hanna and see how she was doing, and this was the perfect excuse so Hanna wouldn't think she was being smothered or babied. Treated like she was made of glass. He couldn't begrudge her wanting to make the trip, she'd been such an amazing friend to Hanna since she'd been returned to them all. Hanna needed that right now. Besides he and Mona, Hanna seemed the most comfortable around Aria, he figured she still felt guilty even though Spencer was perfectly fine with her. Spencer had even called her and asked her to get in to the Radley's booking system to see if Jenna had extended her stay because apparently she was still here. It hadn't been much, Spencer could have called he or Mona either of them could have done it, but she'd called Hanna and Hanna had clearly felt like Sherlock Holmes the entire time, and when she relayed her discover to Spencer that Jenna had indeed extended her stay. He was grateful to Spencer for giving her that. In Emily's case? Caleb thought that it was another case of guilt. Hanna knows how much Emily cares about Alison and while Emily had eventually stepped up to the plate, she'd mostly been focused on Alison. That resentment she'd been presented with was probably hard to shake off too.

It hadn't been long after Aria had left that Mona had the breakthrough.

"I got it…I got the address. 23 Wexbridge Street…apartment 109" Mona said excitedly.

"As if there was any doubt that you would" Hanna joked. She actually joked, eliciting a smile from Mona.

"So…who's gonna check it out?" Mona asked.

"Don't you want to? I'd have figured you'd be itching to poke around his apartment." Caleb asked her. Mona shook her head.

"No. There's a lot still to do..to try to recover or uncover. I'm gonna be glued to this for the foreseeable future" Mona gestured at her laptop. Caleb turned to Hanna. He really didn't think it was a good idea for her to go poking around Rollins burner apartment. Poking through his belongings. He hated to think what the guy had stashed there. But if she really wanted to go…he wasn't going to stop her. Not if she needed to do it for closure or…whatever other reason.

"Han?" he asked her.

"Actually…..I think…I think I'll sit this one out. I don't….it's easier if I don't think of him as a person…just….I know it makes no sense but…right now he's not a person to me he's…he's…a shadowy figure with a name. Because that's all I saw, and the image of him from the Barn is the one that I see clearly. I just…if I go to his apartment and see….see all his stuff…he'll become a real person to me" Hanna tried to explain her logic. "Besides. Lucas needs my business plan super fast right? So….I'd actually prefer to stay here. With you guys." Hanna finished. Caleb wasn't sure if this had anything to do with last night or not, but seeing as she wanted to stay away from something that could hurt her even more, he wasn't going to argue about it. He nodded.

"Sure Han, I'll call Aria….one of the girls'll go" Caleb said, exiting the room to make the call. Aria had sounded excited at the prospect of investigating Rollins. _Each to their own._ Sure Caleb wanted to know who the guy was, what his connection to Jenna was, and more…but he wasn't gonna get jazzed about going all CSI: Rosewood on his apartment. _She must really be desperate for something to do. Or maybe she's just being a good friend and is excited to find out something to help Hanna._ When Caleb re-entered the room, it was to the sight of Hanna sitting next to Mona at the table, both engrossed in their own projects, Hanna looking the most…together she'd been in a while. It was like last night was a million miles away. _Last night was a set back…one that's going to haunt me for a while but….she's finally getting back to her old self. Getting back on track._ Caleb smiled. Sitting down at the table with his own computer.

"C'mon Mona, give me something to do, and don't tell me you don't need the help cos we both know you do. You can keep the hard stuff" Caleb smirked. Mona just rolled her eyes and handed him the burner phone filled with all the recovered messages so far.

"You know what to do" she said before returning to her work. _That I do._ He wished he didn't but at least this way…he could help Hanna. It might not solve all of her issues, it might not help her heal. But it would still help her, and Caleb would do whatever he could to do that.

The day had gone so well, Caleb should have expected for something to go wrong. Hanna had seemed to be getting back to her usual self, last night had shaken her and rather than trying to keep Caleb away, she was instead trying to keep him close, she didn't like it when he was out of her eye line. It was his fault and he still felt awful….would feel awful for a long time, but at the same time…Hanna wanted him nearby. Didn't want him to leave. Didn't want him out of her sight. It was hard not to enjoy that. They'd worked all afternoon in companionable silence until they'd gotten the call. They needed to head to Spencer's barn, Aria and Emily had checked out the apartment and Alison had news too. Caleb knew it couldn't be good. Knew it deep down. When Hanna had gone to the bathroom, he'd had a whispered conversation with Mona about whether to tell her. Whether Mona should go alone. The both of them knew something was up. It had to be for them to want to meet this late. It screamed emergency. Hanna had had a really good day and neither of them wanted to spoil that but if it was to do with Rollins, and it most likely was….was it really right to keep Hanna in the dark? She'd find out eventually and she wouldn't thank them for keeping it from her. In the end they'd told her, and while she'd been wary…the trio had soon headed out to meet the others at Spencer's barn. Which is where they where now, listening to the litany of 'not goods' coming out of Alison's mouth while Hanna paced backwards and forwards, lost in her thoughts, to the side of him. He had tried to stop her, but she'd only started to pick at the skin around her nails instead and he figured pacing would hurt less.

"I'm completely broke. He took everything" Alison said with despair.

"It just keeps getting worse"

"Thank you captain obvious" Caleb sniped before he could stop himself, quickly holding up his hands in supplication before an argument could break out. "Sorry" Emily nodded in acceptance. Mona looked like she'd agreed with Caleb, shockingly. Mona had had an issue with Emily and Spencer since Hanna had been returned. Emily in particular, the debate about actually saving Hanna…the resentment. Mona was not a forgiving person when it came to her friend and the trauma she'd suffered. He figured her problem with Spencer was just the usual.

"Guys…we deliberately pointed the cops towards Philly. That's where this trail was supposed to end, so….this means…" Caleb really didn't want anyone to finish that sentence, but a quiet and shaky voice filled in what Spencer left unsaid.

"Somebody knows." Caleb turned to Hanna to see her staring at a spot on the floor. A spot he was fairly certain had had a load of mud on it from their forest…..excursion. Her breathing was picking up and she looked nauseous.

"Hanna you're not alone in this" Aria tried to comfort but Hanna didn't seem to hear her. She forced out a shaky breath.

"I'm gonna be sick" she choked out before turning and rushing towards the bathroom. Caleb went to get up but Spencer was already on her feet, she sent him a look and he sat back down. If she wanted to be there for her friend, he wasn't gonna stop her.

"God, when she panics like that I can't even think" Alison griped. Caleb didn't hit girls, but he was strongly tempted to break that moral code. How dare she? After everything she's been through because of Alison and her crazy family. She killed Rollins to protect her. He got the other girl was probably stressed and traumatised too but…Hanna had suffered so much. She was entitled to freak out at the thought of someone holding this over her. Caleb caught Mona's expression, and Mona definitely had her claws out.

"You know. If it wasn't for you and your plea to get everyone back here to get Charlotte out of her hole. None of this would have happened. She came back to help you. She was kidnapped to help all of you. She was traumatised….again…by a family member of yours….again." Mona held up a hand. "I don't care what argument you have, he was still your husband. She killed him….to save you. To protect you. So you don't get to be all….bitchy about how she reacts to finding out someone may know what she did. She is allowed to freak out. She is the one with the most to lose. She is the one who'll be targeted the most. If it where you…everyone would be falling all over themselves to comfort you. But instead of supporting your friend, you're just sniping. Honestly…what kind of friend are you" Mona sneered. Before Alison could reply, or Emily for that matter. Spencer appeared in the doorway.

"Caleb" her tone had him on his feet and on his way to Hanna without a backward glance, except for a disparaging look for Alison as he passed her.

When he reached the bathroom he saw Hanna huddled next to the toilet with her arms wrapped around herself, staring in to space. Tears tracking down her cheeks.

"Hanna?" he said quietly, as he came towards her.

"Caleb" she looked up at him. "Someone knows…someone knows what I did…and….and….I deserve to be punished I know I do but….after the Dollhouse and..the-the-the barn I can't….I can't be locked up again. I can't. It would….I don't know what it'd do to me but it…it would…." Hanna dissolved in to sobs. Caleb sat down and pulled her to him, hugging her tightly.

"You're not going to be locked up again Hanna, I won't let it happen. I promise" Caleb said seriously.

"You…..you can't promise that. If….if it's A…or AD….or A whatever….then…they'll get me. They'll always do. Every single time. They'll….they'll use it against me and then…then…then….I'll be trapped and I won't be able to g-g-g-get out" Hanna cried in to his chest. Caleb stroked her back and looked up at Spencer who was standing in the doorway, and had been joined by Mona a grim look on their faces. Their eyes met and Caleb knew Spencer wouldn't allow Hanna to be locked up anymore than he or Mona would. Caleb sat there comforting Hanna as best as he could, Spencer and Mona never budged an inch, offering what support they could. He could see the wheels behind Mona's eyes turning as she thought everything over, he knew she was plotting already. Perhaps they'd be able to work together without arguing for once. He and Mona had done it once, but Mona and Spencer where a different story. But he could see the determination in both girls eyes. There was no way any of them where letting Hanna go down for this. Not for that…that…..piece of work. Caleb hugged Hanna to him tightly. _There's no way I'm letting you go._


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Once Hanna had emptied her stomach again, with Caleb holding her hair back and soothingly rubbing her back, Caleb had decided to take her home. Aria had been gone when they'd emerged, Alison and Emily the only two left so Hanna had quickly said bye to Emily and Spencer, not even looking at Alison before leaving with Mona in tow. Caleb had briefly wondered if he'd have to hold Mona back once he'd seen the look she'd shot at Alison, but she'd followed after Hanna without a fuss.

It hadn't taken long to get back to the apartment but the silence was worrying. Hanna hadn't said a word the entire ride. Mona had tried to draw her in to conversation but failed. Hanna hadn't even said anything on their way up to the apartment, she just kept looking around..but not really seeing. As soon as they'd entered the apartment Mona had made a beeline for the table and her laptop and various other gadgets, immediately starting to tap away at the keys furiously. Caleb had no idea what she was up to and for the moment he didn't care. He was too focused on Hanna. Besides, whatever it was, he figured Mona was trying to help Hanna the only way she knew how. He knew she wasn't doing this for any of the others. Hanna had mumbled a goodnight to Mona and then disappeared in to the bedroom without a backward glance. Mona and Caleb exchanged glances.

"I'm gonna…make sure she's okay. As okay as she can be anyway" he said quietly. Mona nodded. "Couch is all yours just…don't stay up too late okay?" Mona raised an eyebrow.

"Is that concern?"

"Look we need you to be on top form, so just…try and get some sleep" Mona nodded and turned back to what she was doing, dismissing him. Caleb walked towards the bedroom, pausing briefly outside the door he took a breath and then walked in. Hanna was sitting in her pyjamas staring at the wall.

"Hanna?" he said gently. She turned her head to look at him slowly. A good sign.

"I can't stop thinking about….everything. The barn. Hitting Rollins…..him staring at me with blood everywhere, just….right in front of me. I don't even remember burying him that clearly. But I did do it. So did Spencer and Aria and Emily. We all buried him but…..someone knows what we did and…it's him. It has to be him."

"Hanna, it can't be. He's dead. You all saw. You all buried him. There's no way he got up and dug his way out"

"No? Alison did it. She was pulled out but it's similar" Hanna mumbled, fiddling with her hands.

"No. It's not. She got hit over the head, he got hit with a car and went through a windscreen" Caleb saw Hanna flinch. He hadn't meant to upset her, but she had to understand…that wasn't something you'd just walk away from. Or you know…dig yourself out of the ground and then walk away from. "He's gone Hanna. He's not coming back. He's not going to hurt you again. It could be anyone….AD, Jenna….Sarah…he had a partner, we just need to figure out who it is."

"That doesn't make me feel better Caleb" Hanna shook her head.

"I know and I wish I could say the right thing, but there is no right thing to say Hanna" Hanna nodded.

"I just….something feels off and this wouldn't be the first time something weird happened and….and….he knows it was me that hit him, he saw me…he….we stared in to each others eyes Caleb, I don't think….I think…it might have…taken him a few seconds or minutes to die or...or...or...pass out or..whatever happened...because when he came through that windshield and he…he was staring right at me and he…he could see me. Really see me." Caleb walked over to the bed and sat down behind her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back against his chest.

"I wish I could take that memory from you" He murmured."I really don't think it's him Hanna. It would be impossible, you said it yourself it took him a while to...die" he said gently.

"I said 'or whatever'...too many strange things have happened Caleb...it...I...maybe he didn't die..maybe he...he...played dead I don't know but...I thought he died...but...but what if he didn't? I can't...I can't rule it out...I can't..." Caleb stroked her hair soothingly.

"Shhhh Han, it's okay, he's gone" Hanna was shaking her head. She wouldn't be placated. She wouldn't believe he was gone he wasn't sure if it was paranoia from everything that had happened or if it was something deeper. Caleb thought about it. It wouldn't be the first time someone came back from the dead and the dude had a thing for masks…but surely if it had been someone wearing a Rollins mask…the girls would have noticed? But then it was dark…and no-one wants to stare at a dead body. On the other hand Hanna hadn't been able to look away apparently….she would have noticed. Wouldn't she? Caleb wasn't so sure it was Rollins, he was pretty sure the guy was dead, he had to be, nobody could act like that, but Hanna…for whatever reason was convinced, she wasn't entirely making sense...but she was convinced and wouldn't be swayed otherwise. Caleb sighed. "You really think it's Rollins?"

"I don't know how….but….it has to be. It has to be him. I just…it feels like him and cameras saw him and..and…" Caleb decided to cut her off before she could upset herself further.

"Okay. Okay. If that's what you think…believe. Then I believe it too" Caleb said. Hanna turned to look at him.

"I'm not crazy….I know I sound crazy but…I'm not. So you don't have to agree with me to placate the crazy person." Hanna let out a yawn.

"I know you're not and I never said you where. To be fair…people in this town don't really seem to stay dead" Caleb wanted to kick himself after saying it. _Not helping Caleb._ "Look. Whether it is Rollins or not…you think it could be him…and I'm on your side. You need me to be on your side. So I am." Caleb figured he'd be the only one on her side, and she needed that. She needed to have at least one person believe her otherwise she would think she really was crazy. She needed support right now and while the chances where slim..he supposed it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

"There could be grounds for it to be him, I'll admit. But either way….whether it's him or not, we'll figure it out and we'll deal with it okay? I won't let him get to you…I won't let him hurt you again okay? I promise" Caleb murmured, stroking her hair. Hanna nodded, he looked down and saw she was struggling to stay awake now that he'd managed to calm her down a little. Would it be arrogant to assume it was his presence that had allowed her to relax? _Probably._

"I love you" he heard her mumble before she fell dead asleep in his arms. He chuckled.

"I love you too Han" he murmured back, kissing her head and carefully manoeuvring them both to a comfortable position. Hanna was fast asleep but it took Caleb hours to fall asleep. Hours running over every single detail of everything that had happened since Hanna's kidnap. The more he thought…the more he wondered if Hanna was right. He spent hours debating with himself, making arguments for and against, playing devil's advocate. He'd need to be prepared tomorrow because he was fairly certain the other girls wouldn't agree and he needed to be in Hanna's corner, he didn't want the others arguing with her and distressing her. The entire time, Hanna slept peacefully in his arms, her face buried in his chest, only moving to shift closer to him. It was nearly dawn before Caleb finally managed to drift off. It wasn't a peaceful sleep, but he didn't care as long as Hanna was getting some much needed rest.

The next morning Caleb jolted awake. He wasn't sure what had woken him up, but when he rolled over he realised. Hanna was gone. His eyes scanned the room. _She's definitely not here._ "Hanna?" Caleb called. But he got no response. He immediately tried to push down the rising panic. _You're being ridiculous._ She had to be here….she wouldn't go out alone…. _Mona. Mona's here. She could be with Mona._ Caleb rolled out of bed and tried to calmly walk to the bedroom door. He yanked it open and strode out in to the main living space. Mona was tapping away at her computer, looking like she'd never even moved...except for the fact she was wearing a fresh shirt.

"Mona…where's Hanna?" Caleb asked, trying to conceal the panic in his voice and failing miserably. Mona looked up, raised an eyebrow and pointed at the bathroom. Caleb rushed over, his hand on the door knob before he finally heard the sounds of the shower running. He forced himself to remove his hand and walk away a few steps. He didn't think Hanna would appreciate him barging in on in her in the shower right now. They weren't...together...or even in the right place for that. She was still...vulnerable. No-one would have gotten past Mona…and Hanna wouldn't have left without he or Mona, much as she might want to try, after last time..he didn't think she would manage it. Yet. So it was fine. She was in the shower. He'd panicked prematurely. He blamed it on lack of sleep, and everything that had happened, he just..after all the thinking he'd been doing...after hearing what Hanna said...he'd panicked a little to find her gone. Since she'd gotten back, she'd always been there when he woke up... _except for the time she was out running down Rollins...but that was a one off...and exactly why she wouldn't go rushing out without you. I hope._ He figured he was allowed to be a little bit over protective. Caleb shook his head and walked back over to Mona who had resumed typing without comment.

"Have you been up all night?" he asked casually.

"No. I slept" She said, never taking her eyes of her screen.

"For how long? An hour?" Caleb eyed the couch, the suspiciously untouched looking touch.

"Unlike you, I know how to make a bed…even if it is a couch" Mona snarked. Caleb ignored the snark and focused back on the girl.

"Did you find anything?" he asked.

"I'm still looking. I'll let you know as soon as I find anything. But…it's tricky" Caleb nodded. "Did you uh…did you hear anything last night?" Mona looked up and wrinkled her nose.

"I hope you're not trying to ask me if I heard you two having-"

"NO! No. God Mona. No" Caleb shook his head. Mona raised an eyebrow. "Not that I don't want to…you know…with Hanna…but….now's not really the time and….no."

"Well well well….look at you all flustered" she smirked and Caleb scowled. "I'm glad to hear it. Things wouldn't go well for you if-"

"Hold the threats Mona. I get it. But no. I was asking if you'd heard any of our conversation?"

"No…" Mona's brows creased. Caleb looked towards the bathroom door to check Hanna was still occupied, then turned back to Mona, leaning down close.

"Hanna thinks that…Rollins is still alive….I spent most of the night turning it over. I'm ready to back her up but I'm still not convinced"

"He looked pretty dead to me" Mona said bluntly.

"But…did you get a good look?" Mona thought for a few moments.

"No not really. It was dark. I wasn't close enough to really…..study him" She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the thought.

"The thing is…Hanna thinks he's the only one who could know. I'm not so sure, there are plenty of candidates, he seems the most unlikely. I'm fairly sure she killed him…." Mona nodded.

"There was a hole in the windshield, blood everywhere…he was just lying there. There's no way…." Mona trailed off.

"But last night….I did some thinking. I'm on Hanna's side, but.." Caleb sighed, running a hand through his hair. "She thinks it's Rollins so I'll back her up because she needs someone to. But the other girls…Spencer…"

"They'll argue it. Take some convincing" Caleb nodded.

"Exactly. I don't...I don't want them making her think she's crazy. That she's..." Mona nodded. "I've run through multiple options in my head. It's someone else. Maybe he really wasn't dead. Maybe he just….."

"Crawled out of his own grave like some sort of….zombie?" Mona said with a raised eyebrow.

"It wouldn't be the first time" Caleb flashed back to what had Hanna had said about Alison. "Or maybe….maybe it wasn't Rollins. Maybe it was someone he was working with wearing a mask" Mona thought about it.

"It could be but….they buried him. Surely one of them would have seen?"

"That's what I thought. But it was dark….Hanna..she was staring at him but I'm not sure she was really seeing" Caleb said quietly. Mona nodded thoughtfully. "I just…I wondered what your input was" Caleb said, waiting for the snark. Mona looked like she was going to deliver but then thought better of it.

"You make some valid points but it's just…too uncertain. My money would lie on someone else…whoever else he was working with, but I just…I can't be sure" Mona said with a frown. She thought some more. "I'll keep working on the burner phone….see if I can dig anything up…but I'm not so sure we need to worry" she said decisively, coming to a decision. Caleb nodded.

"Thanks Mona" as he spoke, the door to the bathroom opened to reveal a fully dressed Hanna, towel drying her hair. Caleb felt a stab of relief to see her standing there. He'd been kind of ridiculous earlier but…he couldn't help it.

"Morning" She said to him brightly. He smiled at her.

"Good morning" She smiled back at him. Mona made a pitiful noise of disgust and Caleb rolled his eyes, knowing Mona had a reached the stage where she did it because it was expected of her and not because it reflected on how she felt. Caleb turned his attention back to Hanna, who was watching him, a slight smile on her face.

"What?"

"Nothing" she flushed. Caleb raised an eyebrow. Before he could question her further, a cellphone started to ring. Hanna whipped around and rushed over to answer it, clearly glad to get away from the conversation he'd been trying to start. _Interesting._ Judging by her relaxed stance as she answered and started to talk, Caleb figured it was one of the girls and it was safe for him to grab a shower and make himself presentable.

When he emerged from the bathroom, showered, dressed and ready for the day, Hanna was just wrapping up her call. Her entire stance had changed. She looked nervous…on edge. He shot a questioning look at Mona, who shrugged, tapping her ear to indicate she couldn't hear the conversation. Caleb turned to Hanna as she approached them.

"That was Spencer. Everyone's meeting at the Brew"

"Okay…." Caleb said slowly.

"We need to…we need to talk about the whole 'somebody knows thing'" Hanna said trying to play it off.

"You don't have to go" Caleb and Mona said at the same time, then looked at each other. Mona carried on. "I can go for you…take notes." Mona offered kindly. Hanna shook her head.

"You're needed here…doing…..whatever you're doing." Hanna forced a smile, "We need you to focus on that. Besides. I can't hide in here forever. Someone…someone knows…and…and I should go and talk to the others…tell them..tell them what I think" Hanna didn't sound too sure. Caleb looked at her with concern.

"You don't have to Hanna. They're your friends. They'll understand."

"If they really understood they'd suggest coming here" Mona muttered.

"They can't…they…we need to be seen out in the open as much as possible. It'll look suspicious if we hide away" Hanna pointed out and Mona had to concede the point. "I need…..I need to go and meet them. I have to."

"Last time you had to go and meet them you-"

"Mona" Caleb said her name warningly.

"What? It's true. It's their fault Hanna was even out there in the first-"

"Now is not the time Mona" Caleb cut her off. She had a point. But it was useless pointing the finger of blame at this stage. _What's done is done. We just need to make sure Hanna makes it through this._

"Please don't argue, I'm going to be late. Just….I said I'd go. I just….I can't...I'm still not too good with...with..." Hanna cut off, struggling for words, "I don't want to go alone. I...I...I can't" Hanna said quietly, she turned to Caleb. "Will you...will you please come with me?"

"Of course Han" Caleb said sincerely. She nodded looking distracted. "But you might want to dry your hair properly first…" he teased. Hanna's hand shot to her damp hair, feeling around. A few moments later, she started to laugh. Mona and Caleb looked at her with concern and she waved her hand at them as she shook her head.

"I'm fine..I'm fine. I just...I shouldn't…after everything I shouldn't care what my hair looks like, it's so..pathetic and mundane but….oh my God…for a second there, that was the biggest thing I had to worry about…narrowly escaping going out in public with crazy hair. It was a few seconds but..." Caleb and Mona smiled.

"There's Hanna" Mona muttered to Caleb. He nodded, watching Hanna hurrying to the bedroom to grab her hairdryer. _I don't know how, but I'm gonna make sure that all you have to worry about is your hair and your clothes and whatever you've cooked up with Lucas. No more Rollins. No more AD. No more A anything._ Caleb vowed.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Hanna had insisted on walking to the brew, she'd been tense the entire time, but she was trying to act natural…to loosen up. He hoped his presence helped. Hoped she knew and believed that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. He was worried about this little meeting…he knew the girls meant well but Hanna was so set on it being Rollins and he really didn't want the girls arguing with Hanna, making her feel stupid or crazy or…or..just upsetting her right now. He knew she could handle it. After everything she'd be able to handle it, it was nothing. But she shouldn't have to. As they approached the Brew, his feelings of apprehension grew and he was lost in his own thoughts. He didn't realise Spencer was there until Hanna called her name, waving the brunette over. She nodded at Caleb, who returned it. Spencer was going to be the trickiest to convince. He knew she wasn't going to let Hanna go down for this. Wasn't going to let Hanna get hurt again. But she was also practical and blunt. He tried to give her a warning look but he wasn't entirely sure it worked.

"Um…listen, Spence" Hanna started nervously and Caleb tensed.

"What is it?" Spencer asked curiously.

"I've been thinking and I uh….I think it's Rollins" she said in a rush.

"Think what is Rollins?" Spencer asked cautiously.

"The person who…who….you know" Hanna glanced around. Spencer looked at her, brows creased, for a couple of moments before comprehension dawned.

"You think Rollins is still alive? That he's…that it's really him that's been seen?" Spencer asked. Hanna nodded.

"I just…it feels like him Spence. Who else could it be?" Spencer looked at Caleb and he shot her a look. Spencer swallowed, he could see her brain working rapidly.

"Han….I think we need to consider the possibility that Rollins partner in crime could be responsible, I mean after all….they've gotta know he's dead and-" Spencer pulled open the door to the Brew.

"You don't believe me…you don't…." Hanna trailed off swallowing. Caleb put his arm around her.

"Spence….I've been thinking and I mean…the chances are slim. Sorry Han. But…stranger things have happened and with all the masked people running around Rosewood…" he trailed off meaningfully and he could see Spencer's need to comfort her friend…to be on her friends side…war with the need to be logical.

"Okaaaay…" She said slowly. "But for right now…I just think we should focus on living enemies instead of dead ones" Hanna looked away and before Spencer could say anything she was interrupted.

"What are you talking about?" Aria asked as they reached the table.

"Hanna thinks that Rollins could still be alive" Spencer said quietly. Caleb saw Aria and Emily exchange glances while Hanna was busy sitting down. He took the seat next to hers, wanting to be close in case she needed him.

"That detective told Ali, he saw a photo of Elliot Rollins in a rental car" she argued. "Last time I checked, ghosts don't show up in photographs" Caleb grabbed her hand, and was slightly surprised when Hanna squeezed it tightly. He knew she was so sure it was Rollins. Knew she didn't want to argue with her friends about it…wanted them to side with her…to agree with her. Caleb glanced at Spencer and knew Hanna wasn't going to like what she was going to say.

"Okay…we where all there that night. That man is dead. We killed him and we buried him." Caleb winced. He knew Spencer was trying to assuage Hanna's fears but she didn't have the gentlest touch. He could see Aria look at Emily, then back to Hanna. Aria seemed to be…considering the idea. "Now somebody knows, so frankly..that's bad enough without having to go all Walking Dead" Spencer tried to joke.

"She's right about the traffic cam Spence. If there's a photo of him-" Emily tried to argue.

"Yeah that could have easily been manufactured. You find a Rollins lookalike and you stick him behind the wheel of a mid size sedan. The important thing is that AD's fake-" Spencer trailed off as a bus boy neared the group to grab a dirty plate.

"Thank you" She smiled up at him. Once he was gone she resumed her speech. "AD's fake Rollins trail picks up exactly where ours left off"

"Yeah. This has to be Rollins partner in crime" Aria finally spoke up with an apologetic look at Hanna. "Mary or Jenna knows that we killed him and..they're helping cover it up" Aria said with conviction.

"You call that helping?" Hanna tried to sound calm, like her usual self, but Caleb could hear a tinge of panic. This _conversation_ wasn't helping.

"A never does anything for free, okay. Not test scores and definitely not a cover up" Emily stated, and Caleb had to agree. This couldn't be A….could it? If it was, what the hell was the price going to be!?

The others nodded in agreement, they couldn't not. Caleb felt another squeeze on his hand as Hanna tensed.

"So…maybe, maybe his partner is helping him but….it feels like…it feels like Rollins isn't gone and…and I think it could be him..he might not have..he might not have been dead and…and…" Hanna trailed off, Emily was looking at her encouragingly and Aria and Spencer looked like they wanted to agree with her but where struggling. Emily at least had been willing to take on Hanna's thoughts. Caleb had a good idea that Hanna's fixation on it being Rollins was to do with what had happened to her in the barn….the fact she didn't feel safe and probably wouldn't in a while. When Hanna couldn't carry on Caleb did for her.

"It wouldn't be the first time someone we thought was dead…wasn't" Caleb finished. "Look after Hanna talked to me about it…while the chances are slim" Caleb stressed again, trying to be diplomatic "I thought….the dude liked masks right? So what if it wasn't Rollins, what if it was someone else and they where wearing a Rollins mask?" Caleb argued. Hanna smiled at him gratefully and Caleb knew it was worth the look Spencer was giving him. The look that said she had no idea why he was going along with this when it was clearly ridiculous.

"….none of us…really looked at his…" Aria gestured at her own face. Emily nodded in agreement.

"All I'm saying is..it's a thought"

"I know I sound-"

"Don't say it Hanna" Caleb warned her. He wouldn't have her bringing that up in front of her friends. She wasn't crazy. She didn't sound crazy. There where…possibilities they where just slim compared to the other options.

"You have a point" Spencer started. "But it seems the unlikeliest of the options Han. Although a mask could have been used for that photo" Spencer said thoughtfully. The idea had crossed his mind but he was determined to be supportive of Hanna and not give Spencer ammunition to shoot down her idea.

"I say…we don't rule anything out. However unlikely..however…slim the chances. Nothing is impossible. We should know that by now" Emily said and Caleb looked at her gratefully. Before they could discuss it more the door opened, and Caleb glanced to the side. It wasn't like the place was packed after all, and he was on alert. He heard one of the girls gasp. He didn't react at all. _Well. I should have known this was coming. Bring it on Alison. I can tell you to your face that I did not give a damn when I handed it over._

"Is that?" he heard Hanna whisper.

"Yes it is" Aria whispered back. Alison strode over to the group wearing a red jacket. A red jacket Caleb had last seen when he'd dumped it outside the Lost Woods resort.

"Ali…where did you get that jacket?" Emily asked.

"It was a gift. From AD" She did not look impressed. Caleb watched as her gaze strayed to Hanna. Watched as Hanna looked away guiltily. _Hell no. I will not have her making Hanna feel guilty. It was my decision. Not hers. She had nothing to do with it._

"I thought you where supposed to be my friends" she hissed. He watched as the girls all looked away guiltily.

Caleb stood up, blocking Hanna from her accusing gaze.

"Hey. I'm the one that handed that jacket over, you have a problem you take it up with me" Caleb said, barely keeping the anger out of his voice. He felt Hanna grab for the hand he'd dropped and try to tug him back down. Alison turned to him.

"It was you?" She sneered.

"Yeah. And I'd do it again. You know why?" He paused and she raised an eyebrow at him. "Because your psychotic husband was going to kill Hanna. I wasn't going to let that happen"

"And you let him?" She looked around the other girls. "You decided Hanna's life was worth more than mine?" Caleb heard Hanna inhale and he glanced behind to see tears fill her eyes. He wasn't sure exactly why the comment had upset her. But it had.

"No. You don't get to be angry. You where safely locked up in Welby. Hanna was being held God knows where, freezing cold, terrified…she was being tortured again and again to find out who killed your damn sister. She wouldn't even have been here if it wasn't for you and your insistence that your psychopath of a sister be let free." Caleb was breathing hard.

"Caleb-" Hanna started.

"No Hanna." He turned back to Alison. "Hanna has suffered a hell of a lot more than you have, and quite frankly…it's your fault. _Your_ sister. _Your_ husband. _You_. It always comes back to _you_. You don't get to be angry that I decided to look out for Hanna. That I saved her. Ever since she got back she's put your wellbeing before her own. She was the _only_ one who knew how dangerous your husband was. She killed him to save you. So don't you dare there stand there, angry that she's alive because you had to suffer a little bit. It was nothing compared to what she went through. How dare you stand there and make her feel guilty for being rescued…for being alive." Caleb snarled.

"Caleb-" Hanna tried again. He could see Spencer move her head as if she was going to nod but then thought better of it when she saw Alison's face. Aria wouldn't even look at Alison, she was focused on Hanna, and had reached out to try and comfort her. Emily was too busy staring at Alison with guilt written all over her face. If he wasn't so damn angry he'd have rolled his eyes at her.

"It's okay Hanna. We're leaving. We're done here. How you can be friends with someone…protect someone who quite clearly would rather you had died than she have to suffer even a little bit…I don't know. You're clearly a better person than she is" Caleb tugged on Hanna's hand, pulling her to her feet.

"Hanna I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like-" Alison started. Spencer cut her off.

"Yeah. You kinda did. So we where just supposed to let Hanna be murdered?" Spencer asked. Alison started to reply but Caleb didn't hang around to listen. Holding on tightly to Hanna's hand he gently pulled her out of the coffee shop, leaving Spencer to handle it, before turning and heading for home.

"Caleb….Caleb stop!" Hanna pulled on his hand. He whirled round to face her, pulling her in to his arms and against his chest. "It's…it's okay Caleb" Hanna said quietly, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.

"No. It's not. She….she said….she…"

"I don't think she meant it…."

"I don't care. You nearly died. You where….you where.." Caleb couldn't finish the sentence. He wasn't sure how long they stood like that, him holding Hanna tightly, her telling him it's okay over and over again. But it seemed like hours. He couldn't make himself let go. Couldn't pull away. Alison…her saying that….it had brought everything rushing back. The fear….terror that he wouldn't be in time, that they wouldn't be able to save her. That she'd be gone. Gone before he could fix things. Gone before he could…he could….

Thoughts rushed through his head. Never seeing her smile again. Laugh again. Never hold her again. He tightened his hold. Hanna just stood there, murmuring to him. He felt like an ass. He was supposed to be the one comforting Hanna, looking after her. Not the other way round. Hanna needed him to be strong. But he couldn't block out the thoughts…memories.

_"_ _Hanna's life has more value than mine."_

Hanna hanging limply from ropes, not responding no matter how much he called her to her.

_"This isn't happening….she's dead."_

Stroking a cool, waxy cheek. Hanna looking like she was asleep…

_"_ _You have 24 hours to give me Charlotte's real killer or Hanna **dies**." _

Panic giving way to determination. Then to panic again at the enormity of the task.

_"_ _Everything you need to cover up a murder."_

A van being filled with supplies. A suspiciously heavy bag.

_"_ _It absorbs the smell of death."_

Hours ticking down to minutes. Minutes ticking down to seconds. No word from Hanna. Silence.

_"_ _I kept crying for help….crying for….you guys and for….for…..for Caleb"_

Hanna choking on sobs.

_"_ _I kept wishing Caleb would come and….and….and save me but he didn't"_

Hanna's tear filled voice kept echoing through his head…everything she'd suffered….he's inability to save her….to stop it all. And Alison had stood there, acting all pissy because she'd been locked in Welby. Caleb didn't realise he was crying until he felt one of Hanna's hands gently wipe the part of his face she could reach. "Caleb, it's okay. I'm okay" Hanna whispered again. He buried his face in her neck. It wasn't okay. It would never be okay.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

Once Caleb had regained control of himself and calmed down, Hanna had suggested they head to the Radley. "You could probably use a drink…and it's 5pm somewhere right?" Caleb had numbly nodded and let her drag him. On the bright side, her fear of the outside had been pushed to the side thanks to her need to comfort Caleb and make him feel better. She had a mission and she wasn't going to let anything get in her way. On the down side…he was the one that was supposed to be doing this sort of thing for her. She wasn't supposed to be babying him…looking after him. Making him feel better. She'd been the one who'd been….been…tortured. But Caleb had just snapped….lost it. By the time they'd reached The Radley he'd come back to himself a little bit. Before they walked in he'd grabbed her arm to stop her.

"I'm sorry Han, I-" She'd smiled at him.

"It's okay" She'd said before dragging him inside and finding them a table. Hanna had then reached in to her ridiculously huge bag and pulled out a wad of paperwork. Caleb had stared at it, raising an eyebrow at her.

"It's my business plan for Lucas…I think…from his message…there might be uh….a couple things wrong with it" Hanna had said sheepishly. Caleb had laughed and rolled his eyes, holding his hand out.

"Here, let me see. What makes you think there's anything wrong with it?"

"I don't have a business degree Caleb" Hanna handed it to him. "I don't know anything about…..projected profits and..and…and numbers and…and….business" Hanna sighed. "Which is stupid because I'm trying to start my own"

"Han. It'll be fine. Call Lucas, find out what's wrong with it and then I'll help you fix it. It'll be the best damn business plan Lucas has ever seen" Caleb stated. Hanna beamed at him as he flipped through her business plan. Caleb winced as he came to a particular page.

"What? What is it?"

"Pie charts. He's gonna hate those. He has a thing about pie, the food and the charts….those are gonna have to go" Hanna sighed.

"But I liked the pie charts" Hanna said with disappointment.

"Sorry Han" Caleb said sympathetically. Caleb placed the plan down on the table. "How about I get the drinks in while you call Lucas? I think we're definitely going to need them" he mumbled the last part. Hanna nodded absent mindedly, flipping through her plan with one hand and dialling Lucas with the other. Caleb knew Hanna could do this, knew that Lucas knew it too. Hanna was intelligent, she just doubted herself sometimes and after everything she'd been through he couldn't blame her for being doubtful. Wary. But he knew that this was Hanna's chance, and he was going to make sure she succeeded. But then…it wasn't like Lucas was going to let her fail either.

Caleb joined the lengthy line at the bar and settled in to wait, watching Hanna as she talked animatedly with Lucas. He heard the odd word, fortune teller, boring numbers….pie chart. He had to smile. As soon as he saw them he knew Lucas was going to nix them. Bad pie related memories. Caleb sighed as the line slowly moved, who knew it would be so busy at this time of day, but then…was there really much else for the adults of Rosewood to do? Caleb could see Hanna furiously taking notes as she talked with Lucas. She looked adorable with her paperwork and the slight crease between her eyebrows as she thought. He had to smile at the obvious sass she was giving Lucas too, she was more like herself. Caleb soon found himself at the front of the line and in order to place their order he had to turn his back to Hanna. He didn't like doing it, it went against everything in him, but it would only be for a few minutes and there where plenty of people in the place…it should be fine.

* * *

Hanna had been worrying about Lucas's message. She had a feeling he hated her plan. She had no idea what she was doing, she'd never written a business plan before and really had no idea how, if it hadn't been for Lucas's guide she wouldn't even have gotten it done yet. Caleb had offered to help but he'd been so proud of her…she'd wanted to do it all by herself. Which was stupid. She dialled Lucas quickly before she could change her mind, feeling Caleb's eyes on her as she talked with him. He pretty much hated everything about it. She kept telling him she didn't have a business degree, that she didn't get this stuff, but Lucas insisted she could do it, kept saying he believed in her and….she wanted to believe him so badly. So she furiously scribbled down notes as he talked. He told her what to fix and how, and she prayed Caleb had more of a clue about this stuff than she did. She figured he did. He was Caleb. Otherwise she'd have to bug Mona to help her and Mona had other stuff to do that she needed to concentrate on. Hanna couldn't take her away from that and she knew Mona would drop everything to help her. She finished her latest round of notes, Lucas's voice droning on in her ear.

"Okay so what else didn't you like about the business plan?" Lucas started to list off different sections at speed, before Hanna cut him off. "Everything. Got it."

"Hanna don't sound so down about it, you actually did pretty good for your first attempt" Hanna sighed.

"You know this would be a lot easier if you where here"

"You don't need me Hanna, you have Caleb and Mona, they'll help you" _And find out how stupid I am._ She thought before shaking her head. She knew they wouldn't care. "Besides, I am here" Lucas laughed.

"In person" Hanna clarified.

"While I'm flattered and much as I miss you, I have things to take care of and I can't get away just now. But I know you can do this, with or without anyones help. You're smart, I know you are. I don't know why you think you can't do this"

"Because I have a degree in fashion not boring numbers that don't add up" Hanna tried to sound jokey to mask her panic...her doubt.

"Hanna….you can do this. Just…you need to stop doubting yourself so much. There's nothing you can't do, if you put your mind to it. Now-"

"I'm going, I'm going…but I'm getting Caleb to help me because this is…." Hanna had been going to say torture, but she couldn't bring herself to form the words. Lucas ploughed on before she could come up with a way to finish her sentence.

"And don't forget to-" Hanna rolled her eyes.

"I'll nix the pie charts. What is it with you and pie anyway?"

"That's a story for another time" Lucas said darkly. Hanna stopped herself from executing another eye roll.

"Whatever. I'll talk to you later"

"Bye, and good luck" Lucas laughed. Hanna smiled.

"Bye Lucas" she ended the call and placed her phone on the table next to her plan. She stared at it, placed her notes to the side and opened the binder to page one. Lucas and Caleb believed in her so much and she really had no idea why, but she didn't want to let either of them down. She sighed and was about to start to try fix her many, many mistakes when she heard a phone ring. She glanced to the side at her cell…but her phone screen was dark. _Where is that coming from?_ She listened for a moment or two. _It sounds close…almost like….._

Hanna froze for a moment. It was definitely coming from her purse…which meant someone was trying to call Rollins. Hanna swallowed. Caleb was still at the bar and she couldn't waste any time, she needed to answer the phone and find out who it was…maybe the others where right..maybe his partner did know…was helping them. Maybe she was being crazy. Hanna steeled herself and reached in to her bag, fishing around for the cell before pulling it out. She stared at it briefly. The phone giving nothing away. She swallowed and flipped open the phone, slowly bringing it to her ear. Before she could say anything a chillingly familiar voice echoed down the line.

"Next time you bury someone, make sure they're dead" Hanna stared at the table unable to respond. She managed to bring her hand away from her ear, and close the phone before letting it clatter to the table. She glanced around, but no-one was looking at her…no-one…he…he wasn't there. But he was somewhere. She hadn't killed him she….she…..he was still alive. She'd been right. She'd wanted to believe Spencer's reasoning so badly because she could feel relief…feel almost safe with him gone. But she'd known hadn't she. She'd had a feeling. She wasn't crazy. She wasn't being paranoid. She had known. She gripped the table, knuckles white from the pressure as she held on. He was still out there…..somewhere. He could be anywhere….she hadn't seen him…seen anyone looking in her direction but…that didn't mean he wasn't there. She…she'd hit him with her car and he knew it….knew it was her. He would be coming for her. She'd be back in that barn…in the cold…with the…the…the…the….

"Hanna? Hanna, what's wrong?" Hanna jumped, her thoughts shattering as she turned startled eyes up to Caleb. She realised her breathing had become ragged. She reached for one of the glasses he'd dumped on the table and downed it."Hanna talk to me, what's wrong?" Caleb crouched down to her eye level. She reached out and downed the other drink. "That was mine" Caleb said mildly. Hanna glanced around the Radley one more time, then started to shove everything on the table in to her bag. Phone. Notes. Plan. She could feel Caleb watching her but he stayed quiet. Once she had packed everything up she grabbed him by the hand and started to tow him out of there.

"We…I…I need to go home…I need to be back in the apartment. I can't be here. I can't be out here"

"Okay. Are you going to tell me why?" He asked gently.

"Rollins. He called me. He called…the…the..his…his phone. I had it in my bag. I forgot it was there. Mona..she…..she took everything off of it to go through and I…it was in my bag…I don't….I…I…I answered it…"

"Han?"

"He….he spoke. It was him..with his….his real voice. He said…he said….he's alive. He's alive. He's out there...out here somewhere. Watching me. He's here. It was him Caleb. It was. I was right. He's not dead…he knows what I did..he…he'll be coming after me…he…he…" Caleb grabbed Hanna by the arm gently and turned her to face him.

"I won't let him hurt you again Hanna okay. We're going back to the apartment. Mona hasn't left and she won't have let anyone in, plus with all of Lucas's security measures nobody's going to be getting in anyway. You'll be safe there okay, I promise" Hanna nodded, clutching on to his arm. The pair set off at a fast pace, heading back to Hanna's apartment. With is free hand, Caleb sent a text.

**_SOS: Meet me at Hanna's apartment NOW._ **

Hanna still hadn't calmed down by the time they reached the apartment. She rushed in to the apartment and stared around. "Can you…can you please…."

"I'll check, stay here with Mona" Caleb said, giving her a quick hug, before searching every inch of the apartment. He knew no-one would be able to get past Lucas's security and Mona…but he wanted to make Hanna feel safe. She needed to feel safe somewhere and this was the only place, it was the best option. He came back in to the main room to see Hanna pacing, lost in thought and chewing on her thumb.

"It's all clear Han" he said, she nodded but didn't look up. She kept staring at the floor as she paced.

"What the hell is going on?" Mona asked, looking between the two of them.

"Hanna got a-" Caleb went to answer but there was a knock at the door. Hanna tensed, letting out a quiet whimper of fear. Caleb's heart clenched.

"Go stand with Mona Han" Caleb figured he knew who it was, she'd been faster than he'd expected. He strode over to the door, and cautiously opened it, just because he thought he knew who it was...doesn't mean it couldn't be anyone else. He peered in to the hallway, and spotting the familiar face he hauled the door open and ushered her in, quickly closing and bolting the door behind her. He saw Hanna relax a fraction at the action.

"Spencer?" Hanna asked with relief.

"Caleb texted me, I was the only one who could come….what's going on?"

"That's what I just said" Mona chipped in. Hanna's mouth opened but she couldn't form the words so Caleb jumped in.

"Hanna had a call today. On Rollins burner phone"

"Dammit. Hanna why did you have it?!" Mona turned to her friend.

"You said you got everything off the chip….I just….I just wanted to try and help and I…." Mona opened her mouth to respond.

"It doesn't matter" Caleb interrupted, squeezing Hanna's hand that had found its way in to his. "She got a call. From Rollins"

"What?" Mona shrieked. Spencer narrowed her eyes.

"What did he say?"

"He said...he...he said..." Hanna swallowed. She looked at Caleb and he nodded at her encouragingly. She took a breath. "He said, 'next time you kill someone, make sure they're dead'. He was…he was using his real voice" Hanna said quietly. Clutching on to Caleb for support. He brought an arm around her, pulling her in to his side. "I was right…I was….I was right and he's out there. He's out there right now and he knows what I did and..and…and…"

"Shhhh" Caleb said, rubbing her back gently.

"I hate to do this Hanna but…..it might have sounded like him…but it might not have been him he..he looked pretty dead" Spencer said slowly and not without sympathy. Caleb figured she was trying to ease Hanna's panic as well as be logical about it all. She wasn't arguing with her just for the sake of it, but someone who had sounded like Rollins had called Hanna and freaked her out pretty bad. At this stage..he wasn't going to rule anything out.

"Spence, you guys thought Ali was dead and look how that turned out" Caleb said with a raised eyebrow. Spencer nodded, conceding the point.

"Back in the nineteen hundreds they used to bury people alive all the time, they used to find scratch marks inside coffins" Hanna blurted out, voice rising with hysteria. Caleb tightened his grip on her and turned to look at Mona.

"Did you let her on wikipedia?" he whispered with a glare.

"NO!" She hissed back. "She has a phone you know. With Wi-Fi" Mona and Caleb glared.

"Guys!" Spencer interrupted before turning to Hanna. "Han, wikipedia is not your friend okay?" Spencer smiled slightly, "I know you think it's Rollins, and I understand what you're saying but it could just as easily be Jenna or Mary or whoever using his voice to torment you" Spencer said gently. "They probably just want the burner phone back to protect themselves or something...there's got to be more to this, I just haven't figured it out yet, but it seems the more likely option."

"Probably. You keep saying probably and and more likely and could. That's not definitely Spencer. I'm the one who killed him. Me. You know what he did to me and that was before…before I…I…I…" Hanna couldn't finish the sentence.

"Gave him what he deserved" Mona said.

"Not helping" Caleb hissed. Mona pulled a face.

"I saw him…I saw his eyes and he…he…he saw mine. He knows it was me and he…he…he'll be after me…he'll…he'll…..the barn…the…." Hanna was choking on sobs Caleb turned from Mona to pull her in to his chest, holding her tightly as she started to cry.

"We won't let him hurt you Hanna" Mona said with cold certainty. Caleb looked at Spencer, who appeared to be struggling with what to say. She had a point. But so did Hanna and Hanna was convinced it was him. If it was…..

"Hanna I-" Spencer was cut off by the sound of a phone ringing. Hanna slowly lifted her head from Caleb's chest to stare in the direction of her bag.

"Is that….." Spencer trailed off. Mona started to frantically tap away at her keyboard.

"No...no it's him….it's him…" Hanna started to panic. Caleb rubbed her back soothingly, with no idea what to do. Either way Hanna was going to freak out, it was going to upset her. But it might show Spencer that Hanna was right. Or at least make her think…consider the possibility. Caleb made a decision.

"Answer it" He told Spencer, keeping a tight hold on Hanna. She nodded and grabbed Hanna's bag, rooting around for the phone before pulling it out. She snapped it open and placed it on the table, put it on speaker and they all leaned in close to listen. Caleb trying to soothe Hanna.

"First you turn her in. Then you leave her all alone. Stupid bitches" Caleb and Mona looked at each other. He raised an eyebrow. She nodded. So it was the voice she'd heard talking to Mary. It was definitely Rollins. The voice sounded vaguely familiar but he wasn't sure why. He looked at Spencer, an eyebrow raised in a silent question.

"I'm calling Ali….now" she said, grabbing for her phone and dialling. She put it on speaker.

"Spencer?"

"Ali, where are you?"

"I'm at home, why?"

"Ali you have to…you have to go the police now. They're still outside your house right?" Hanna wriggled out of Caleb's grip to grab Spencer's phone from her.

"Yeah they are….what's going on?"

"Rollins…he's…he's alive and he's coming..he's coming for you, he..he…he…"

"He's dead Hanna" Alison said calmly.

"No. He's not…he's alive…he…he….he crawled out of his damn grave and..and he's…" Hanna couldn't get the words out around her frantic breathing. Spencer grabbed the phone from her gently.

"It's Spencer again. Look Hanna might be right about Rollins, so make sure that cop doesn't leave your side. I'm on my way." Spencer ended the call and grabbed her things.

"Take Emily or Aria with you" Caleb said with concern.

"I can't, they're busy. I'll be fine. The cops are going to be there" Hanna started to protest.

"You can't go alone, you can't, you don't understand….I told you but you still don't understand what he's capable of if you did…if you did you would have believed me earlier." Hanna cried. Caleb tried his best to comfort her but it wasn't working. She was getting more and more worked up. "Ali needs me…she needs me I'm the only one who knows…she needs me….I have to…I have to…." Hanna broke free from Caleb and headed towards the door, Caleb trailing behind her. If she was going to go, he would to. There was no way Rollins or whoever was going to lay a hand on her. He could hear Spencer following them. Hanna came to an abrupt stop in front of the door, staring at it for a few moments. Chest heaving. She'd been making progress but after the phone call...Caleb wasn't sure if she'd be able to leave the apartment, even with him. Hanna reached out for the door and froze. She stood there, mouth working, hand shaking. She appeared to be trying to force herself to grab the door handle. Caleb watched her silent battle, worried for her and how out of control her emotions had become. He didn't know how to help her. Suddenly the silence was broken. "DAMMIT" she screamed and would have punched the door if Caleb hadn't grabbed her wrist to stop her from hurting herself. He wrapped his arms around her and started to murmur in her ear.

"It's okay Han…it's okay…."

"My friend is in..she's in danger and I can't…I can't even….I'm too scared to face him again to…to….to be near him and to...to.."

"It's okay Hanna. I'll go. I'll make sure she's okay" Spencer said reassuringly, squeezing her shoulder as she passed her, before hurrying out of the door.

"Spencer, no, you can't...you can't go alone...you...can't-"

Hanna broke down and all Caleb could do was stand there and hold her while she sobbed.


	20. Chapter Twenty

Hanna had cried for well over an hour, Caleb just holding her the entire time, murmuring to her and trying to comfort her. He'd managed to get her over to the couch not long after Spencer had left. She'd eventually run out of tears, or was just too exhausted to carry on. Or maybe both. She sat, staring at nothing, tear tracks glistening on her cheeks. She didn't say a word. Mona and Caleb exchanged glances and Caleb then picked her up carefully and carried her to bed, tucking her in carefully. He sat next to her on the bed, carefully wiping her face with a damp flannel to clean the tear marks, then stroking her hair until she fell asleep. He heard her breathing even out, but he stayed still for a few minutes to make sure she was definitely asleep. Once he was sure he slowly got up and quietly made his way back to the main room where Mona was waiting for him. When he walked in, Mona was on the phone, finishing up a call to Spencer by the sound of it. He waited patiently for Mona to end the call, and within a few minutes, Mona had said her goodbyes and hung up.

"That was Spencer"

"I figured" he replied.

"Alison's okay. She was attacked, he was wearing a cop uniform and a mask. The police scared him off before he could kill her. If that's what he was trying to do." Mona said. Caleb nodded.

"I'll tell Hanna when she wakes up, she needs to just...sleep" Mona nodded in agreement.

"If it's Rollins…if he's back…." Mona started.

"I'm going to kill him again" Caleb finished. The two shared a grim look. "What are the chances?" Caleb asked.

"I'm not sure. It sounded like him but the voice was…..off. I'm trying to work it out now but I'm not getting very far. I would have thought it was impossible but…." Mona trailed off.

"But?"

"This is Rosewood" she said simply. Caleb inclined his head, conceding her point. "It's either Rollins himself, or it's someone pretending to be him, but the voice...the attack on Alison. I'm beginning to think he's harder to kill than he looks." Caleb turned to stare around the living space, eyes lingering on the used tissues littering the couch and the floor. He was silent for a few moments. Thinking. The only sound in the room was his and Mona's breathing. Finally he came to a decision and turned to Mona, breaking the silence.

"Get your coat. Now" he said quietly.

"Where are going?" Mona asked but she was already moving. Reaching for her jacket and pulling it on.

"To dig up a body" Caleb said in an emotionless voice, pulling on his own jacket. Mona didn't react. She just adjusted her jacket, then went to the kitchen and rooted around for a minute or two. Caleb ignored her and fiddled with his own jacket. He didn't want to leave Hanna alone, if she woke up and he was gone she'd freak out and he didn't want to put her through that again. But he needed to do this. For her. So she could know. He pulled out his phone as Mona emerged from the kitchen with two flashlights.

"We're going to need these" she held them up and Caleb nodded. "You're lucky I keep emergency shovels in my trunk, so we don't have to make a suspicious purchase at the Hardware store" Caleb looked at her, raising his brows.

"Why do-" he cut himself off. "You know what. I don't want to know. Plausible deniability" Mona smiled innocently at him. Caleb looked down at this phone, thumb hovering over Toby's number. Surely Hanna would feel safe with Toby there, he was a cop, and Caleb would tell him not to hesitate to shoot anyone trying to get in.

"I'm coming too" a voice sounded from behind him. Caleb and Mona whipped around to see Hanna standing in the bedroom doorway, hair rumpled and wearing the clothes he'd put her to bed in. _She'd definitely been asleep._

"I thought you where asleep?" Caleb asked.

"I woke up because you weren't there" she said simply. Mona pulled an overly sarcastic "Aw" face at him and he shot her a look.

"I'm sorry, I was going to call Toby and..." Caleb trailed off and sighed. "You can't come Han, you need to stay here"

"No…I need to…..I need to see….I…I just need to see. Need to see if he's….if he's there and if he isn't…." Caleb and Mona exchanged a glance. If they argued this they'd lose valuable darkness. There was no way they could do this when it started to get light. Caleb got where Hanna was coming from, she needed the visual confirmation and just this once his word wasn't going to be good enough...but digging up his body? That was going to mess with her. Badly. Mona looked to be leaving the decision up to him. He debated a few more minutes then finally turned back to Hanna.

"You hold the flashlights" he said. Hanna looked surprised.

"No…..no arguing or…or…making me agree to wait in the car?"

"No. If you say you need to do this….I don't like it but…I get it." Caleb shrugged. Hanna threw her arms around him and whispered in to his ear.

"Thank you Caleb" he grimaced.

"Please don't thank me for…..this" he shuddered. This wasn't going to be pleasant. It was like his own personal horror movie. He looked to Mona.

"Let's go" was her only comment.

Mona drove. They rode in tense silence. Whatever they found….it wasn't good either way, although in Hanna's case one scenario might ease her mind and allow her to heal more. Although Caleb figured digging up the dead body of the guy she killed might set her back a bit. But then she wouldn't be doing any of the actual digging. He had contemplated asking Hanna to stay in the car but he knew she needed to see it herself, with her own eyes in order to believe it. For her mind to be at rest. Besides….Hanna was still Hanna. It wasn't like she'd do as he said. If he wasn't there...then Hanna might lose it. Or she might feel better knowing that he was out there. Definitely out there. Either way it wasn't going to be the best outcome and he would need to be there for Hanna. They'd have to call Spencer and work out what to do. _You'd better be in the damn ground you asshole._ Mona pulled up, hiding her car in the trees as best she could.

"It's just through here" she said. They piled out of the car. Caleb saw Hanna shivering slightly. She'd opted to quickly change in to leggings and a black sweater. He'd told her it wouldn't keep her warm enough but with true Hanna Marin logic, she'd retorted that she needed to "look the part", needed to be "stealthy and blend in like a ninja". Caleb had chuckled and let it go. Whatever would make her feel better about doing this. Whatever made her happy. Caleb removed his jacket and rolled his eyes as Hanna took it from him sheepishly.

"Don't worry, you'll still make a cute ninja, you'll just be a lot warmer. Can't be stealthy with your teeth chattering" he smirked, then helped her to put it on before stepping back. He watched as she pulled it around herself tightly and he smiled. Mona, who'd been rummaging in her trunk, slammed the lid shut and came back around the front of the car. She handed Caleb a shovel and Hanna the two flashlights.

"Let's go" they wordlessly followed her as she sped through the undergrowth, Caleb keeping Hanna within easy reach for the entire short walk.

"This is it. This is the spot" Mona said quietly, bringing them to a halt. Caleb glanced around. The moon shone down clearly through the trees, illuminating the area. There was a clear patch of ground, surrounded by trees, covered in fallen leaves.

"I…..I….I remember, it's like it was a dream or something." Hanna said quietly, staring fixedly at the ground. "It looks like it did….before" Caleb nodded, noticing the entire ground area looked untouched.

"That doesn't mean anything. He could have covered the hole back up." Mona reasoned and Caleb shot her a grateful look for not giving Hanna time to feel stupid. "I would have" Mona finished. Caleb's grateful look vanished and he rolled his eyes upwards.

"Of course you would. Let's get this over with" Caleb turned to Hanna and gestured at the flashlights in her hand. "Hold both and point them down at the ground so we can see where we're digging"

"As if you need the light" Hanna muttered. Caleb gently clasped her cheek in one hand.

"Hey. You've already been through enough without having to do…this. So please just stand there and hold the flashlights that we don't need okay?" Hanna nodded, giving him a very faint smile.

"Actually, the extra light will help us exam-" Caleb whirled to Mona and made a slashing motion with his hand. Mona winced, then wisely didn't finish her sentence. She handed Caleb a shovel and led him over to the spot she thought was where she'd seen them digging. They dug their shovels in to the ground viciously and with more force than was really necessary. He figured he'd take out some of his anger on the poor, innocent ground and Mona clearly felt the same.

* * *

Caleb didn't know how long they'd been digging but he felt like he'd done a full body workout. It was a cold night but he was sweating buckets and he lamented the fact they hadn't thought to bring water. Digging up dead psychopaths was thirsty work, it turns out. They'd been digging in silence to the soundtrack of the nocturnal wildlife in the area going about their business, and the sound of dirt shifting.

"I don't remember digging this much" Hanna said quietly, breaking the silence.

"You didn't. You where in shock. The girls dug this…you filled it in" Mona replied. Caleb tightened his hold on the shovel, driving it back in to the ground with all of his anger behind it. He was still pissed they hadn't stopped her. That they'd let her touch his body. Let her...let her bury the bastard. Caleb stood back and surveyed their work. They'd dug quite a way down, and quite away across, the rough measurements Mona recalled seeing. They'd found nothing. _They couldn't have dug much deeper than this, could they?_

"He…he isn't here. Is he?" Hanna said hesitantly from her spot nearby. To her credit, she managed to keep calm, there was no hint of hysteria in her voice. Caleb figured watching them dig had offered her time to prepare herself for either eventuality. If he wasn't there, things where going to be harder for Hanna, but right now she was coping well and he was proud of her.

Caleb opened his mouth to reply when his spade hit something with a dull thud. His eyes shot up to meet Mona's.

"Hanna stay back. I mean it…just stay back" He said as he and Mona tossed the shovels to the side, got down on hands and knees and started to haul the dirt out of the way with their bare hands. Caleb tried not to show how creeped out he was, he really didn't want to be touching a dead body. They both recoiled once they'd uncovered what Caleb had hit. It wasn't a pleasant sight. Rollins was definitely dead…maggoty and dead. Caleb wrinkled his nose in disgust as a smell started to permeate the air.

"He's dead Han." Caleb called to her. "Really, really dead...please don't ask me to check for a mask or a pulse" Caleb mumbled. He would do it but...he shuddered. When he got no response from Hanna, he turned to see Hanna right behind him, staring down at Rollins dead face. Caleb swore and Mona started to quickly shove dirt over him, to block Hanna's view.

"Dammit Hanna I told you not to look" he said with concern.

"I had to…..I had to see….to know….to make sure he's…..he's dead. That he can't….can't hurt me…can't….he can't…..I had to see."

"He'll never lay a hand on you again Hanna. Okay. He's dead. The calls…they aren't him."

"They must be his partner" Mona said grimly, shovelling dirt. Caleb grabbed his shovel and started to help. Hanna stared down at the grave. Not moving. Not speaking. She just stared at his slowly disappearing head. Caleb couldn't do anything, he needed to get it covered up as fast as possible so she couldn't keep looking at it.

"Question is…..who is it? Why are they helping us cover up Rollins death? Why go through all the trouble of making Hanna think he was still alive? Just to mess with her? To...punish her?" Caleb pondered out loud. They shovelled in silence, Hanna standing to the side quietly. Despite his attempts to stop her, she probably had that image burned in to her brain. The grave was nearly filled in when Mona's head shot up.

"What? What is it?" Caleb asked. "Did you hear something?" Mona glanced at Hanna, who hadn't moved, and then whispered to Caleb.

"What if this was the reason? Whoever it is…makes Hanna think Rollins is still alive…knows what it'll do to her after everything she's been through, the barn, actually killing him...and knows we'll come here eventually. To check. To put her mind at ease." Caleb followed her thought process.

"You think we're on camera right now? Real Grave Diggers of Rosewood? Or should that be Body Exhumers?" Mona shrugged.

"It's a possibility…..a good one. Maybe they know it was us or suspected...but they didn't have any proof. Not until now."

"Not until we gave it to them. Great…." Caleb looked at Hanna again.

"Don't say anything. Not yet" Mona urged. Caleb nodded in agreement and the pair finished filling in the grave, covering it as best they could to hide the disturbed ground. Once they where done, Caleb slowly approached Hanna, who hadn't moved. He wasn't even sure she'd blinked. _This was a terrible idea. But now...now she knows._

"Han?" he said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"He's gone….he's really gone…he can't….he can't hurt me….he's gone. I've been so scared….so scared he was back and…and that I..that he'd…." Hanna swallowed. "But he's dead. I really did….I killed him and….and…" Caleb hugged Hanna fiercely.

"It was an accident. Okay? An accident. Besides, he got what he deserved. He will never hurt you again. No-one will. I'll make sure of it" Caleb promised. Hanna nodded in to his chest, holding on to him tightly. When he found out who'd decided to mess with Hanna like this….they'd be joining Rollins in the ground. No-one was going to hurt Hanna again. Not with him around and he'd always be around.


	21. Chapter Twenty-One

The trio had driven home in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. They made it back to the apartment without incident, the dirt from the grave hidden thanks to the dark clothing they'd chosen to wear. Caleb was worried about Hanna. She hadn't said anything and he knew it had to be messing with her...seeing his...his...

Caleb shuddered. Mona had taken over the kitchen sink to clean herself up, and Caleb followed Hanna as she headed towards the bathroom. "I don't need a babysitter Caleb, I can wash my hands without supervision" Hanna said, tiredly. Caleb laughed.

"Hey...I kinda wanna get grave dirt off me ASAP...so sorry but we're sharing" he said, bumping his hip in to hers as they entered the bathroom. Caleb immediately turned on the tap in the sink and shoved his hands under, scrubbing them with soap. He inspected every inch of his hands and under his nails to make sure there wasn't any...lurking. Then he splashed his face and neck. It was as he was reaching for a towel that he noticed Hanna was just...standing there. Staring in to the mirror.

"Han?"

"I'm fine...I just...it's so like that night. Burying a body. Cleaning up. I...I...still feel dirty, from that night. Like...like it never washed off and now..." Hanna held up her hands. She'd gotten them dirty when she'd climbed in to and out of the grave. "I wasn't...I wasn't digging or...or...burying this time but I still...I still got it all over me...It's like...like it's..." Caleb reached for one of her hands, and gently tugged her to the sink. He put the plug in, and filled the sink with a mix of warm and hot water, checking to make sure it was okay with his own hand. Once it was full and Caleb was happy with the temperature, he gently dipped Hanna's hands in to the water. Once they'd been submerged for a minute or two, he removed them and got her to rest them on the edge. He squeezed some on to his palm, rubbing them together before enveloping first one hand, then the other, between his. Rubbing the soap in gently. Making sure he covered every inch. Then he took one of her hands, in each of his and placed them back in the water, soothingly rubbing her hands to get the soap off. When he pulled them back out, they where completely clean. He gently towelled them dry, then finally looked up at Hanna. She was watching him with tears in her eyes. "I'm...I'm going to take a shower" She said shakily. He nodded and went to leave the bathroom, but just before he reached the door, Hanna grabbed his arm and pulled him back, then threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. "Thank you" she whispered. Caleb wrapped his arms around her tightly and squeezed, basking in the moment for a minute or two before pulling away.

"I'll be here when you get out" He smiled.

"I know. You're always here" Hanna said with a soft smile.

* * *

Hanna's day had been going well. She'd managed to go to the Radley with her friends, and without Caleb as her safety blanket. While she wasn't fine, she wouldn't be for a while…seeing Rollins in the ground….really seeing him, had gone a little way to making it possible for her to get out the door. He was dead. He wasn't coming back. He wasn't out there anymore. He couldn't hurt her. That had become her mantra. She chanted it all the way out the door…all the way down and all the way outside. Aria had met her outside the apartment block…but that wasn't the point. She'd walked out that apartment door by herself. Sure she'd had to psyche herself up a bit, and Caleb and Mona had to do a little hand holding, they'd both offered to go with her, but when they'd seen how determined she was they'd helped her as best they could. And she'd made it.

She'd had an awful nights sleep, the image of Rollin's….body, after they dug it up…it had seared itself on her retina's and every time she closed her eyes she saw it. Caleb had spent the entire night with her, his arms wrapped securely around her and her head resting on his chest, when she was awake…he was awake. They'd watched cheesy movies, and Hanna had managed to doze here and there but she'd kept jolting awake, that image of Rollins haunting her. The scenes from the barn interspersed with it. Caleb had been there every single time with comforting words, assuring her that he was there and he wasn't going anywhere. She was fairly sure Caleb hadn't gotten a wink of sleep…not that he seemed to mind. Hanna on the other hand, felt like the walking dead…a thought that wasn't entirely comfortable after the events of the last day or so. But once Aria had told her the news of her engagement…Hanna had been so excited for her friend. They'd talked about it the entire way to the Radley, and Hanna had found herself getting excited about something like she hadn't in a long time.

They'd made it to the Radley in record time and the other girls had been waiting for them, quick to offer Aria they're congratulations. Hanna had been touched when Spencer had gifted them with name necklaces. Sure they might seem simple jewellery-wise, but to Hanna…and she was sure the other girls…they meant a lot. Hanna felt…content. She was still on edge…she still had a way to go…but in that moment, she felt content.

The brunch, however, had quickly turned sour when the cheque had been delivered. Hanna should have known that AD would ruin the first good day she'd had in a while.

"Roses are red, violets are blue, you killed Elliott and I could have killed you- AD"

"AD knows that we killed him" Spencer said. Hanna had felt bile rising up the back of her throat. AD knew _she_ killed him. The others had been in the car and she appreciated what they where trying to do…but she had been the one driving. She had been the one…hesitating. She had been the one that had hit him. She'd killed him. Her hand strayed to her phone, wanting to call Caleb, but before she could she heard the sound of police radios. She looked up to see two officers walking in to the Radley and….in their direction. Her stomach dropped. "Are they coming for us?" _This is it…AD knows it was me….they're here for me….I'm going to be taken away. Locked away…I'll be trapped…I wont' be able to get out…..I'll…I'll…_

Hanna started as Emily's hand landed on hers comfortingly, squeezing it. She smiled gratefully at her friend. But she could feel the panic rising. They'd never believe it was an accident, not with everything that happened between them and Alison and Rollins….not when instead of reporting it she'd just…buried the body and run. That screamed guilty and murder.

"They're not here for us" Alison stated as they watched the police enter the elevator. Hanna breathed a sigh of relief. _They're not here for you….this time._ "So who are they here for?" Alison continued her sentence.

"I'll find out" Emily said, getting up from her seat. The girls had vacated their seats and moved closer to the elevator and the gathering of people. Hanna had known by Emily's facial expression that it wasn't going to be anything good and she'd braced herself.

"Sara Harvey….she's dead" Hanna hadn't been expecting that at all. Hanna and the girls stood, trying to find out any detail they could, difficult to do with Jenna giving the performance of the century…a fact Hanna had pointed out along with Emily and Spencer. Hanna tried to tune out Jenna's crying and she could hear a woman mentioning Sara had slipped in the shower. Hanna had to snort. She highly doubted it with what Sarah had been mixed up in. Before the girls could discuss their own theories, the elevator doors dinged and Hanna spun round to face them as they opened revealing a….body bag. Hanna stared at it, unable to take her eyes away. As the gurney rolled through the crowd, a scarred hand slipped out from the cover. Hanna swallowed hard. _It's…it's definitely her._

"Em are you okay?" Hanna said quietly, noticing her friends distress.

"Yeah I'm fine. Sarah said that Jenna wasn't the one we should be afraid of. I also saw a file on her desktop labelled Charlotte DiLaurentis." Emily said quietly.

"Well something in there could link up to AD. We need to steal that laptop" Spencer said, never taking her eyes off of Jenna. Hanna nodded absentmindedly. Her thoughts turning back to the note on their cheque. She needed to get home to Caleb and Mona. Now.

The brunch had pretty much been ruined by the dead body, so the girls had dispersed soon after. Aria had dropped Hanna back at the apartment before rushing off herself.

Hanna rushed inside, calling for Caleb and Mona, both of whom where sitting at the table. Mona still glued to her laptop and Caleb just hanging up with someone. They both looked up as she called for them.

"What's wrong?" Caleb said immediately coming towards her.

"At brunch…we….we….Sara Harvey is dead" Hanna blurted.

"What?" Mona said, brows raised in surprise. Caleb led Hanna over to the table and gently pushed her in to a seat, before taking an empty chair next to her.

"The police arrived and I thought…I thought….they might be there for me. We got a note from AD on the cheque. AD knows we killed Rollins… _I_ killed Rollins" Caleb and Mona exchanged glances, something Hanna didn't miss.

"What? What do you know?" she demanded.

"Nothing" Caleb held his hands up. "But….when we where playing grave robber the other night…"

"Digger Caleb. _Grave Digger._ Robbers steal stuff, we didn't..." Hanna shuddered.

"Okay okay" Caleb said, trying to hide a smile at Hanna correcting him. Hanna narrowed her eyes.

"Will you just finish the damn sentence?" Hanna said impatiently. Mona took over, rolling her eyes at Caleb.

"I thought that we might be being watched. Think about it. AD is Rollins partner. AD hasn't heard from Rollins. Doesn't know what happened to him…but maybe suspects. It's not hard to pick suspects when you know what's been going on between all of us. So AD makes you think Rollins is alive, knowing what it would do to you….knowing we'd go and check."

"And we did" Hanna said with a sense of dread.

"We didn't want to tell you so soon after…but….it's a possibility. AD might have needed proof, or might just have wanted to see if their suspicions where correct...or both" Mona said grimly.

"What if…what if they have evidence. Photos…video…." Hanna spotted Caleb's wince. "You thought that…right?" Caleb nodded slowly.

"Look, Han, there's nothing we can do about it right now. If AD was going to use it, they could have done it by now. _If_ AD got evidence…we'll deal with it." Caleb said reassuringly, squeezing the hand that had ended up on the table.

"Oh God this is all my fault….I…I hit him and then I buried him and then I freaked out and everyone kept telling me it was impossible and it was, but I had to…I had to know and then….then….you'll get in trouble too…you'll be there in whatever AD has on us…this is all my fault" Hanna said, voice rising in pitch.

"Han, calm down. Mona and I…we both had doubts. We needed to check. We would have done it anyway. This is not your fault." Mona nodded.

"No-one's blaming you Han. It was an accident. He wasn't exactly a model citizen anyway" Hanna nodded slowly, not really believing it, but not wanting to argue.

"You where telling us about Sara?" Caleb said, hoping to distract her from the disturbing thoughts no doubt running through her head.

"Yeah, uh….they found her body in her hotel room…people where saying she slipped in the shower but….I don't know. Jenna was there and she was crying as if she'd known Sara her entire life and then Emily said…Sara told her that Jenna wasn't the one we need to be afraid of. She was mixed up in this somehow and AD said….said to Ali….I could have killed you. What if….what if AD killed Sara?" Caleb and Mona both fell silent, thinking it over.

"It's a possibility. I doubt her death was an accident" Mona finally broke the silence.

"The only people who'll believe that are Rosewood PD" Caleb snorted, before his phone alarm rang out. "Look I hate to do this but I have to go..I have…a…uh…I just need to be somewhere, it's important. I'm sorry Han…I hate leaving you, especially like this" Caleb murmured the last part to her looking torn and Mona snorted.

"I'm right here. She won't be alone"

"You're more robot than girl right now Mona…I'm 99% sure you've fused with your laptop" Mona pulled a face at him.

Caleb turned his attention back to Hanna when she spoke.

"It's okay...go. I'll be fine" she said quietly, and he hugged her tightly, kissing her on the forehead before grabbing his jacket and heading towards the door. Once he reached it, he hesitated, looking back at Hanna. "Seriously, go, stop fussing!" Hanna managed to laugh. Cale smiled at her, "Call me if you need anything okay?" Hanna nodded and Caleb finally headed out the door.

"Separation anxiety much?" Mona snarked in the direction Caleb had gone. Hanna sat in silence. She had been hoping for Caleb's help with her plan, but he'd been holed up in the apartment with her…glued to her side. She couldn't demand he stay if he had something important to do. It wouldn't be fair. She'd been his whole focus this whole time...he had stuff to do, she'd been stopping him from living his life for days now.

"Are you going to tell me what your plan is?" Mona asked with an arched brow, interrupting her thoughts.

"What…what do you mean?" Hanna tried to hide her surprise.

"I know you Han. You have your sneaky, 'I have a plan' face on" Hanna chuckled. _Mona….Mona's the perfect partner in crime. I don't always need to rely on Caleb._ Hanna turned to face her.

"Emily saw a Charlotte DiLaurentis file on Jenna's laptop….Spencer said we need it…." Hanna trailed off, and took a deep breath. "I….I want to help. I can get in to Jenna's room."

"Are you sure? You don't have to Han. If you want to just…hole up here…you can. We understand, after everything you went through..." Mona said slowly. Hanna shook her head.

"No. I should have been there for Ali last night….I should have been helping more…I….I want to help. I'm the only one who can. I can get my mom's key card…get the laptop and get out. It won't be hard" Hanna said decisively. Repeating her mantra to herself. Mona nodded slowly. "Besides. I need to start...I need to start living my life again...I need...I can't keep letting this...this fear rule me. I need to try and...try and do something" Mona studied her for a few moments before smiling.

"Okay….let's go get a key card" Mona said, _Caleb's probably going to kill me._


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two

It had been easy for Hanna to 'find' her moms' key card, and once that had been obtained it hadn't taken them long to head up to Jenna's room. After tapping on the door to make sure no-one was there, they cautiously opened the door, both peering around it to scope out the room and it's lack of occupants. Once they'd made sure no-one was in there, they hurried inside, quickly shutting the door behind them. Splitting up, they quickly started to pull open drawers and cupboard doors, it didn't take them long to check every single one in the place.

"Empty…they're all empty" Mona said frustrated, double checking nearby drawers for hidden compartments. Hanna nodded, but she was peering around the room. _If I had something valuable I wanted to hide…where would I put it? I'd want to keep it close…._ Hanna's eyes strayed to the bed. On a hunch she strode over to it, getting down on to her hands and knees to peer under it. _Jackpot!_ Hanna could see a case of some kind, and without hesitation she reached under and grabbed it, pulling it out from under the bed.

"Mona, I found something!" she called quietly, as she started to check it over. _Dammit, it can't be opened without a key._ Hanna sighed in frustration. "It's big enough for a laptop but…we need a key" Mona turned to answer her but caught sight of the door. She froze.

"Hanna. Someone's turning the door handle….."

"It's probably just Jenna, she can't see us"

"No. But she can hear us. Besides…what if it's not her, what if it's…"

"AD" Hanna breathed, pushing the case back under the bed. Hanna pushed down the rising swell of panic and grabbed the nearest weapon to hand. A lamp. Mona armed herself with the ice bucket. The two of them huddled behind the door, eyes glued to the handle as it turned. The door slowly started to open. The two of them raised their weapons ready to strike…

"Caleb!?" Hanna and Mona cried at the same time and he spun to face them, letting the door close behind him. He took in Hanna and Mona….and their weapons.

"Haven't we been here before Hanna?" he smirked. _With a pink furry lamp Hanna?!_ the memory echoed through her thoughts and Hanna smiled. "What did you think that was going to do?" Caleb gestured at Mona's ice bucket.

"What are you doing here?" Mona demanded.

"I was going to ask you the same thing" He turned to Hanna. "Your mom hired me to beef up the hotel security, I saw you come in. Is this to do with Sara?"

"Em saw something on Jenna's laptop that could link back to AD. It might explain what happened to Sarah" Caleb nodded. "But more importantly…when did this happen?" Hanna gestured at him and the room. Caleb shrugged.

"I needed the money, I blew most of my savings not too long ago, and it's not like it's hard. I wanted some cash so I could help out with bills and food and…whatever"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well I only found out earlier, and you where pretty pre-occupied. I was going to tell you later" Hanna nodded.

"Happy first day?" she offered.

"Thanks" Caleb chuckled, "so did you find the laptop?"

"No…maybe…I don't know. I found this" Hanna went back over to the bed, and pulled the lockbox back out. "It looks big enough to have a laptop in? But we need a key and there's nothing here. Jenna must have it on her" Caleb looked at Hanna thoughtfully. She was outside. She was with Mona so she wasn't alone, but she was still outside. She had something to focus on, other than all the awful things that had happened to her. She seemed to be coping well with it all and if she wanted to help….he wouldn't be able to stop her. Clearly.

"I know a way to get the key. But I'll need your help" he said, smiling when Hanna perked up at the words 'need your help'. Caleb didn't want to jinx it…but he could see Hanna slowly coming back to herself. Bit by bit.

* * *

All Hanna had had to do was set Jenna up with a free Spa Day. It hadn't been hard, but Hanna still felt a pleasant buzz at finally being able to help, no matter how small. She'd texted Spencer tell her what was going on, and how she thought they where close to the laptop. Spencer had gotten to the Radley in record time, briefly filling them in on her trip to the hospital. Getting the key had been easy and with Caleb playing masseuse and ready to warn them if Jenna left her spa day early, the girls set off back to Jenna's suite. Hanna made a beeline for the lockbox, slotting the key in the lock and twisting eagerly. She opened the lid and shoved down the stab of disappointment.

"No laptop. Just papers" she sighed.

"It may not be the laptop, but it could still be something vital" Spencer pointed out as Mona started to take photos of the pages on her phone. Hanna smiled at Spencer gratefully for the reassurance. They hadn't been photographing long before they heard the sound of a keycard being inserted into the slot of the door. It couldn't be Jenna...Caleb would have warned them. They grabbed everything and threw themselves under the bed, shoving the papers back in the lockbox and re-locking it. Returning it to it's position. The girls lay side by side, barely daring to breathe. _This could be AD…..this could be them._ Hanna felt on edge, and it wasn't just the possibility of coming face to face with AD. She was in a dark, enclosed space and it wasn't sitting well. She felt Mona link their arms in solidarity and comfort and she made an effort to control her breathing. They watched the door open, and a pair of boots make their way across the floor. The boots stopped in front of the bed and a ratty file was tossed to the floor making Hanna jump slightly. Hanna held her breath as a hand reached down and grabbed the lockbox, hauling it out and unlocking it. The file was placed inside and the lockbox was secured and returned to its hiding place before Hanna could even begin to get a proper look at it. _Now leave. Now leave. Please leave._ Hanna chanted, mentally. Desperately trying to keep her brain from taking her back to the barn and the darkness.

The three of them peered out from under the bed as the boots moved away, towards the phone. Their eyes widened in shock and they all exchanged glances as they saw the face of the intruder. Noel Khan. Noel dialled a number…a doctor…and delivered what sounded an awful lot like a threat. They exchanged glances again, each trying to work out what Noel's involvement was…why he was with Jenna….what he was calling a doctor for. Noel put the phone down and paused a moment. The girls held their breath. He lashed out with his foot, viciously kicking a stool with a bang and Hanna flinched as memories of the Barn…a fist viciously hitting the wood over and over, played throughout her mind. Mona's grip on her arm tightened and Spencer carefully placed a comforting hand on Hannas shoulder. Noel exited the room and the girls released a collective sigh of relief. Hanna scrambled out from under the bed. Glad to be free of the darkness and the confining space, taking deep breaths.

"What the hell?" Mona asked the room. Spencer shook her head and Hanna looked longingly at the door.

"We'd better get those photos to Caleb" she said quietly, edging towards the door. Eager to be out of the room. Spencer made a move towards the lockbox.

"We need to photograph the rest and hello...that was Mary's Radley file!" Spencer protested. Hanna was shaken and she just wanted to get out….to go to Caleb. As if on cue, Hanna's text alert sounded.

"It's Caleb…Jenna's on the move, we need to go" Hanna said, trying to hide her relief. She'd wanted to help, and she knew this was important. But after that spell under the bed….she was feeling fragile. She felt ridiculous. It was a bed…or the underneath. Nothing scary. Nothing terrifying. Yet it had shoved her back to the Barn, and been made worse by Noel's sudden violent outburst. Memories where crowding in on Hanna and she figured she'd pushed herself enough today. She wanted to retreat back to her apartment with Caleb and Mona. Spencer looked longingly at the lockbox.

"Now Spencer" Mona commanded, studying Hanna and the way she was wringing her hands. Mona opened the door and ushered Hanna out, who went gratefully in to the hall, Spencer reluctantly trailing along after her, checking the images on her phone.

"Guys these are in code" Spencer said with a frown.

"Let me see" Mona said, taking Spencer's phone and studying the screen.

"I'll air stream them so you guys can get a better look." Spencer said, tapping at her phone.

"Leave it with us, Caleb and I should be able to crack this between us" Mona said confidently, handing Spencer back her phone.

"I guess I'll leave you guys to it and head back to the hospital" Spencer sounded put out.

"Sorry, but it'll only take the two of us...if that. We'll let you know when we have something" Mona said, not sounding sorry at all. Spencer turned to Hanna and offered her a quick hug, before heading off. Hanna and Mona headed down to the bar to wait for Caleb. After half an hour, Hanna started to get twitchy.

"Where is he? Do you think something happened to him? What if…what if…what if…"

"Han. He was keeping an eye on Jenna. She's blind. On the off chance she noticed him…I'm sure even he could take her" Mona sneered.

"Mona I'm serious" Hanna said, wringing her hands. Mona sighed.

"I know Han, he'll be fine, he always is" Mona said reassuringly. Hanna nodded but wasn't convinced. She didn't like having Caleb out of reach…she felt safer with him nearby. Rollins may be gone but AD was still out there. Add to that everything else Hanna was dealing with…she needed Caleb. Badly. She was happy he'd found some work to do, but she'd also been….disappointed. At least until he'd told her on the way to stealing Jenna's key that it was a one time thing and he could handle the rest from the apartment. She'd felt ashamed for being so relieved. Just because she struggled to get out of the apartment, didn't mean that Caleb had to be locked in there with her. She'd done good today. After last night's melt down she'd….come to a decision. Her friends needed her. She couldn't let them down. So she would try her hardest to overcome the aftereffects of what she'd been through. It wouldn't be easy. She'd managed it today. But it was daylight. Plus she'd been with Aria and then Mona. If she had really wanted to be brave…to push herself…she'd have come alone. But even with the girls by her side, it had still been hard. She'd felt a nervous energy, an itchy feeling on her back. She'd had to repeat her mantra over and over to block out the negative thoughts that would have plagued her. It had been a struggle. The incident with Noel in the room had triggered some unpleasant memories and she was definitely done for the day. She knew it was silly to be worried about Caleb, he could handle himself and this was a hotel, there where cameras everywhere…but someone had killed Sara despite all that. She knew she wouldn't feel truly safe until Caleb was with her. She finally saw him approaching from the elevators on her hundredth scan of the room.

"Caleb!" Hanna called, and he quickened his pace.

"Hey, did you get what you needed?" he asked. Hanna didn't reply, she just threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"I was so worried!"

"She thought you'd been given a beat down by a blind girl" Mona snickered.

"Seriously Hanna?" Caleb turned back to her, but when he saw the look on Hanna's face he sobered up. "Han, I'm fine. I was just finishing something up for your mom's security and signing out. I'm sorry, I should have texted you or called, I didn't think it would take so long" he rubbed her back.

"It's okay, I'm just being stupid" she mumbled.

"No, you're not. Besides, I like it when you worry about me" Caleb whispered. Hanna flushed.

"Alright lovebirds, home time. Caleb has some codes to help me decipher" Mona said, starting to head out. Hanna took Caleb's hand and started to follow. Caleb looked down at their joined hands and smiled to himself, before tightening his grip on Hanna.


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three

The trio arrived back at the apartment after a car ride full of Caleb and Mona devising a game plan for how to tackle the photos. As soon as they walked through the door, they headed over to the table. Accessing Spencer's air stream, Caleb immediately set about blowing up the pictures and printing them out so that they could see them better. While he was occupied doing that, Mona brewed a large pot of coffee, figuring they where going to need it and Hanna was in charge of snacks, she wanted to do more but...she wasn't as tech savvy as Caleb and Mona. Snacks was about all she could manage. In no time at all they where all seated around the table, the blown up photos spread across it, and engrossed in studying the images Spencer had taken. After watching Caleb and Mona examining the pages, Hanna decided to see if she could pick out anything useful. She picked a random page up off the table and examined it closely. _Clearly I'm not going to be any help._ She thought after staring at it for over fifteen minutes and seeing nothing but code. No connections or whatever it was Caleb and Mona where looking for to crack it. She sighed as she placed the image back on the table and picked up another one, she knew it was pointless...she couldn't help with this, but she wanted to try anyway. She wanted to help.

It had been nearly an hour when Caleb broke the silence.

"Where's the rest?" Caleb asked. Hanna wanted to face palm, the entire car ride she hadn't thought to tell him about the Noel thing...he and Mona had been too preoccupied with discussing how to approach decoding the damn things. Then as soon as they'd gotten through the door they where too busy preparing everything and then...well...trying to decode them. She knew Caleb wasn't going to like the Noel thing but Mona spoke up before she could.

"Noel arrived" Mona said promptly, never taking her eyes of the page she was studying.

"What?" Caleb peered over the top of his, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"We where taking photos of the file, page by page, obviously, and then someone tried to get in. We had to put everything back and hide under the bed and when we got a good look…it was Noel. He had a file...Mary's Radley file and he put it in the box, he obviously stole it for whatever reason" Hanna said, trying to think back to what she'd been told about the file.

"If Noel did steal the file, then there's something in it we didn't see" Caleb said, returning his gaze to the page in his hand.

"Yeah, something worth breaking and entering for" Hanna mumbled. She didn't know...couldn't remember enough about the damn thing to speculate. She'd been kind of preoccupied when she was told about it. She hadn't even thought to ask questions. _Some help you are Hanna._ She thought.

"I'm more curious about what he was doing there….he had a key card, do we assume Jenna gave it to him?" Mona asked, sifting through the pages of print outs.

"I'm not even going there right now, this code is enough of a problem. Right now...I need to handle one thing at a time." Caleb sighed, brows furrowed in concentration. Hanna felt a smile tugging up the corners of her lips, and she shifted closer to him. _He looks adorable when he's concentrating._

"Okay beautiful mind, what's that code mean?" Caleb looked at her and huffed out a laugh, smiling as he turned back to the pages. Before he could say anything Mona interrupted with a coughed "hem hem" Hanna flushed and looked at her.

"Beautiful minds" She corrected, exaggerating the plural. Mona smirked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know, I'm gonna need some extra caffeine to figure that out" Caleb said, reaching for the coffee pot, slightly annoyed at Mona for interrupting he and Hanna's little moment.

"Well…this is like some sort of test right? For Mary?" Hanna said, gesturing to the page she had in her hand and had been staring at blindly, as she'd looked down at it to avoid Mona's gaze she'd spotted some text in the corner. It was probably the only page she'd even remotely have a chance of working out, but she felt a hint of pride anyway at figuring out something helpful.

"Yeah, it's her DNA" Caleb said with a proud smile as he peered over at the sheet, quickly taking in all the details on it. Mona gave her an encouraging nod. Hanna looked sheepish.

"That's uh…that's all I got. I don't even know why Jenna would have Mary's DNA" she mumbled.

"Don't worry, it's more than what we got" Caleb said. Hanna knew he was trying to make her feel better, and she appreciated it. All she wanted to do was help her friends but she wasn't as smart as Caleb and Mona…she didn't know anything about code or decoding, she couldn't help crack the phone or trace calls or whatever. It was all beyond her. Caleb had tried to show her some of his tech know how but it had completely gone over her head. Caleb and Mona grabbed their respective laptops and opened them up, both immediately starting to type faster than Hanna could follow, she had no idea what they where doing...hacking stuff? Running a programme or something? Hanna sighed quietly and sat back, prepared to be cheerleader and coffee pourer as the two poured over the sheets and started throwing out suggestions to each other. She pulled Lucas's business proposal out of the bag she'd placed at her side. _May as well try and get something useful done._

* * *

It had been a couple of hours since they'd started and Caleb and Mona where starting to get frustrated. Mona had left not too long ago to go and grab them some takeout, eager for a break and a chance to clear her head. Caleb had refused to take a break every time Hanna had asked so far, working on the code with a feverish determination. He hadn't even take a break to pee, and he'd been going through the coffee pretty fast. _He must have a bladder the size of a basketball._ Hanna was bored out of her mind. She'd finished tweaking...okay completely changing, her business proposal for Lucas. She'd even printed it, and put it in an envelope. Mona said she'd send it while she was grabbing the takeout. She hadn't even needed to ask for help. Okay...so Mona had seen her struggling at one point and pointed out the solution casually...but she still hadn't asked. She was desperately trying not to fall asleep on the table or yawn or let on how bored she was in general. She was supposed to be being supportive.

"Any luck?" Hanna asked, to break the silence and try to lure Caleb in to a conversation. Maybe talking it out would help.

"I recognise a pattern but I'm not familiar with this encryption" Caleb said, frowning at the screen and pressing a few keys.

"Can't you google it?" Hanna asked. Caleb smiled.

"It's not really the kind of thing you Google Hanna" he said gently.

"Oh. Well...she's blind so...she can't have come up with anything too complicated" Caleb stared at her. "She can't see" Hanna said defensively. "How's she supposed to come up with some super hard to break code if she can't even see what she's doing...unless she can see...it wouldn't be the first time she was fake blind and she was staring at Aria pretty hard. But then...maybe she thought she was looking in to space because she really is blind. Or maybe she heard us or Aria and she was like a dog you know...she's gotta have super sensitive hearing, so maybe-"

"Han. Breathe" Caleb said laughing as Hanna's babbling came to an end and she heaved in a breath. "I'm not sure Jenna did come up with this. It could have been Noel or...someone else" Caleb said. Hanna thought. It would make sense. But then...she didn't really know much about Jenna...she didn't know if she was good with numbers and codes and whatever. Hanna shook her head to clear the thoughts that quite frankly, where starting to make her head hurt. She couldn't imagine how Caleb felt.

"Why don't you take a break?" Hanna suggested, "Mona will be here with food soon, and it's not good to keep staring at a computer screen. Is bad for your eyesight or something" Caleb smiled at her.

"Well Mona's slacking off, so why not, and...my eyesights just fine" Caleb said winking at her. Hanna smiled wide enough that her dimples popped out. "I think I'm gonna grab a shower, clear my head, Mona probably had the right idea...but don't tell her I said that" Hanna gave him a mock salute.

Hanna laughed and shook her head, "Sure thing" Caleb smiled back at her for a moment or two and then got up from his seat. Caleb briefly kissed her head as he walked past her chair and headed towards the bathroom. After grabbing some stuff from the bedroom, he disappeared in to the bathroom and it wasn't long before Hanna heard the shower going. It sounded corny but the sound of the shower just then...how close she was becoming with Caleb again...it reminded her of before they'd started dating. When she'd had to jump in to the shower with him. She'd tried her hardest to keep her eyes on his face or not on him at all but when he'd turned around she couldn't help herself from looking down. _He still has a cute butt._ She thought. Then started. _Wow. I didn't think I'd be noticing anyone's cute butt any time soon...not after..._ she shuddered and pushed the thoughts away.

Hanna settled back in to her seat and stared at the print outs scattered over the table, sifting through them. _I haven't been any help at all. I only knew it was a freaking test because of what it said in the corner. All I'm doing is sitting here while Caleb and Mona do the hard work. Dammit._ Hanna felt frustrated tears well up. She felt like she'd been more of a burden than a help ever since she'd gotten back and she just wanted to do something…she just wanted to help. Pull her weight. Everyone else was doing so much but she...she couldn't, whether she tried to or not. Something always stopped her. She hadn't been able to go to Ali because when she thought Rollins might be alive..might be there...she'd frozen up and then completely broken down, she wasn't smart enough to crack codes or phones or whatever else Mona was up to. What was her purpose? To be the damaged one? The useless one? The one that got tormented by AD and probably just walked right on in to a trap? She needed to do something. Anything.

"Han?" Caleb called from the bathroom and she wiped her eyes, shaking herself free from her thoughts, but they clung to her like they where cobwebs she'd just walked through. She cleared her throat.

"Yeah?" she called back, proud when her voice didn't waver.

"Can you grab me a shirt from my drawer, I forgot"

"How can you forget your shirt?"

"I was a little distracted"

"By what? Code?"

"No...you" Hanna flushed. After a moment or two of silence his voice sounded again.

"So Hanna...how about that shirt? Kinda can't walk around without one"

"I don't mind" Hanna called back without thinking and then slapped her hand over her mouth, her cheeks flaming even hotter, she was glad he couldn't see her. She heard Caleb laugh.

"Yeah well, Mona definitely will, and I don't think she'd appreciate me parading about in front of her"

"Uh...yeah...sure...I'll uh...I'll go get it...now" Hanna called back, forcing back another comment that would only make it worse. Hanna got up and headed to the bedroom quickly, making a beeline for the drawer she knew Caleb kept his shirts in. She pulled it open and started to root around looking for a suitable shirt, it looked like most of them he'd worn and then stuffed back in. She rolled her eyes. _Boys._ As she moved a horrendously patterned shirt that she couldn't believe he owned, and he wouldn't be for much longer if she hadn't anything to do with it...Hanna spotted something. Something familiar. _That shirt….I…I got him that shirt….I can't believe he kept it…..I thought...I thought he would have...thrown everything away. Everything to do with...us._ Hanna smiled softly when she saw it. Memories flashing through her head...her giving it to him as a present...him wearing it practically all the time just because 'she'd given it to him'.

Hanna couldn't stop herself from reaching for it, her hand closed around it and she closed her eyes briefly as her eyes welled up. Once she thought it was safe to open them again her gaze fixed on the shirt and she started to pull it out of the drawer. It had been bundled up just like the rest. It was wrinkled but... _Don't be stupid Hanna you can't give him this shirt...what kind of message is that going to send to him._ She thought, then argued with herself. _It's just a stupid shirt. No not to him it isn't. He kept it. He actually kept it and he practically lived in it after you gave it to him. Just give him the damn shirt...he already knows how you feel. You just don't want to take things further because you don't want him to have a target on his back...don't want him to get hurt but...it is a little late for that. He's been there for you this entire time, he said he'd wait. You're getting better every day...just give him the damn shirt. It's not a marriage proposal. It. Is. A. Shirt._ Hanna shook her head and pulled the shirt the rest of the way out of the drawer.

As the shirt came free of the drawer, something dropped from it and fell to the floor with a light thunk. _What the hell was that? Was he..was he hiding something in there? I'd be surprised if he could find it again in that mess._ She frowned down at the ground and bent down to pick up whatever it was and return it to the drawer. As she spotted it, it took a moment for it to register. It was a box. A small box. A small square box. A small, square, jewellery box. Hanna stared at it. Her mind going blank and then she inhaled sharply. _That...that can't be what I think it is..._

Hanna knew she shouldn't but she couldn't help herself, it was like she was in a trance. She reached out her hand and picked up the box, holding it in her hand as she straightened back up. She quieted the voice that told her she shouldn't do this and she slowly opened the lid. She gasped. Inside, nestled in a silk bed...was the perfect ring. It was so... _her._ And it was so obviously an engagement ring...the kind of engagement ring she would have picked for herself. It was completely perfect. She couldn't tear her eyes away from it and the way it sparkled in the light. A myriad of thoughts rushed through her head as she studied it.

Her first thought was that...maybe he'd bought the ring for Spencer. Maybe things had been more serious than she'd realised. But she quickly dismissed that thought. Caleb would never have bought an engagement ring for Spencer, and then broken up with her for Hanna just like that. Caleb wasn't that kind of guy and he'd explained everything. He'd liked Spencer. But he hadn't loved her. He'd felt awful for hurting her but...he loved Hanna. He loved her. He always had. She knew he loved her, knew how much after everything he'd done for her since she'd been kidnapped. No, the ring wasn't for Spencer. Which meant...

Hanna swallowed. Memories started to rush to the surface. Caleb earlier that day...

_"_ _I needed the money, I blew most of my savings not too long ago"_

She hadn't questioned him. Hadn't asked him what it could be. She assumed he'd been talking about back before...everything. She hadn't even been able to imagine what he would have bought that had taken most of his savings...Caleb saved so much it was insane. Hanna figured it was probably to do with everything he went through with foster parents, scraping by. Figured he wanted to make sure he was set up for life. She didn't know. She did know how much he'd saved up before he'd...he'd left New York. Let her. She could estimate a rough guess of what that figure was now.

Hanna remembered when he'd been back late and she'd...she'd panicked and freaked out. He'd said he got caught up with 'something' and he'd started to say something to her about seeing something and a store...but he'd never finished the sentence. He'd cut himself off, and quickly. He'd been vague with her...and he was never vague with her, not anymore. He was always honest, always told her what he was doing and where he was going to ease her mind. But he'd been hiding something from her and she'd been too messed up at the time to realise. She knew he'd never hide anything from her...not anymore. Not unless...not unless it was supposed to be a surprise or...or...she looked back down at the ring.

This is it. This has to be it. This is what he was getting that made him late back. This is what he spent all of his savings on. This...he bought me a ring. An engagement ring. He knew...he knows me so well so of course he knew what I'd like...knew exactly what rind I'd want...what I'd pick. Hanna tried to remain calm but she was definitely close to freaking out.

_Oh my God. He bought an engagement ring for me. He wants...he wants to marry me. He's going to…he's going to propose. He's going to propose to me...ask me to marry him and he's got to be planning on doing it soon because he has the damn ring. But we haven't even….we aren't even back together yet..not really and….we're…we're-I'm not ready…he...I...I...I can't...not yet….Caleb…I can't. It would make him more of a target and…and…and what if I'm always going to be this messed up, what if…what if I'll never be normal again, I'll be...I'll be a burden. I won't be me...he...he deserves better and...and...oh God.. I can't…I can't….I'm sorry Caleb...oh God._


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four

Hanna's thoughts where interrupted by Caleb calling her name again from the bathroom. She started, and then quickly closed the lid of the box, hiding it back in the shirt she'd found it in and grabbing the first clean shirt she saw. She hurried over to the bathroom trying to keep her mind blank and tapped on the door. Caleb opened it, hair damp and tousled, and jeans slung low on his hips. He smiled at her and stepped out, taking the shirt from her, and pulling it over his head. Hanna followed the movement with her eyes, trying not to stare.

"Thanks" he said gratefully.

"N-n-no problem" Hanna stuttered. Caleb narrowed his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Hanna nodded a bit too vigorously.

"Me? I'm fine. I'm good. I wonder where Mona is? She must have gotten the food by now…she should be back any minute right?" Hanna babbled. Caleb's eyes narrowed even further.

"Okay what is it?"

"What's what?"

"You know what."

"I don't think I do" Caleb stepped in to her personal space, looking down in to her eyes.

"Hanna. What's going on?" Hanna tried very, very hard not to word vomit. But he was staring in to her eyes, and he was so close, and he smelled really good, and memories started to flash across her eyes, memories from their past together, and memories from the past few days and she could feel the splurge coming. _Dammit._

"You have a ring" she blurted. Caleb frowned. He didn't really wear rings. Maybe it was one of Jordan's he'd left...lying around.

"No I-" He started and then cut himself off as a thought hit him like lightening. His eyes went wide and he cursed. "I meant to move it to a better hiding spot" he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"You've never been good at hiding things" Hanna chuckled nervously. Then she took a deep breath.

"Caleb I….I can't marry you, I'm still…..after everything and…I….we….I….I'm still so…so…broken and we….we…we aren't even back together we're….we're just friends. We're just friends right?" Caleb raised an eyebrow.

"Hanna we're friends...but we're more than that. You know that. We always will be."

"O-o-oh, but…we're still not together" She carried on stubbornly. Caleb smiled and tilted his head as she babbled on. "I…..I love you Caleb. I do…but…but….with AD….and you'd be in even more danger, you'd be more of a target and you could get hurt...really hurt I don't want you to end up in...in...in some barn being...being..." Hanna couldn't say the word but she soldiered on. "I….I don't want to….I….I don't think….I...I'm such a burden right now Caleb. You...you deserve so much better...you deserve..you deserve the old Hanna. The normal Hanna" Caleb held up a hand.

"I'm going to stop you right there before you hurt yourself with all your silly explanations"

"Hey!" Hanna protested flushing. _I really should have written everything down and then….memorised it. It would have cut the babbling._

"Hanna. We both know you're reasoning is bullshit. I will keep on telling you until you hear me, I don't care. I don't care if I'll be more of a target, I'm a target anyway...I always have been. I'm not scared Hanna. I'm not going to let AD keep us apart. I will never leave you. Not again. I will always be here. I'll wait for you, for however long it takes. Until you're ready for us to be together again, because we will be together again. I'm not giving up on you and actually...I don't deserve you. You deserve someone who wouldn't have walked away from you in New York and left their phone behind like an immature idiot. You deserve someone who would have come back for you, someone who would have fought for you then. But I'm fighting for you now, fighting for another chance and I won't waste it or screw it up this time. And Han...I love this Hanna just as much as the old Hanna, if that's how you want to look at it...but you are still Hanna. You're beautiful and brave and strong and funny and smart and...hopefully one day you'll be mine again. I love you Hanna. Every version of you. There is no reason you could give that would keep me away"

"What if I-"

"You already said you love me, Han. I know you meant it. I could feel it when I kissed you. I can see it in your eyes every time you say it. I know you love me. You know you love me. You're not getting out of it. You're kinda stuck with me." Caleb smirked and Hanna frowned.

"Caleb, I-" Caleb interrupted her before he lost his nerve.

"The ring isn't for right now Hanna. Like I said...we will be together again one day. Whenever you're ready. I understand you've been through a lot and need time to heal and recover and deal with everything. But I'm here right now...I've been here with you and I'll be there with you every step of the way. I want to be ready when the time's right and we're together again and you're ready for...us. I saw the ring and...it was perfect Hanna. I knew...I knew I had to get it. I didn't want to leave it and then regret it when the time comes, whenever that is and there will be a time Hanna. Because I love you and I'm not letting you leave my side again. One day...one day I'm going to marry you." Caleb said flushing slightly. I love you so much Han. If I...if I hadn't been such an idiot in New York, it might have been my ring on your finger instead of..instead of Jordan's" Caleb ground out the name. He reached out to touch Hanna's face with his hand. "I don't plan on screwing up again Hanna. I don't plan on letting you walk away from me again...or walking away from you again. I want to always be with you. So until you're ready...I can be your friend. I'll be the best damn friend you've ever had. But one day...one day we're going to be Us again. You'll be my Hanna. And when that day comes...when you're ready, no matter how long I have to wait...then you'll be seeing that ring again...wearing that ring" _I hope._ He thought. He decided not to let any doubt in. He was confident in their feelings for each other. He hoped it was a matter of time until Hanna was ready to take him back. Be his girlfriend again. When that happened, he didn't plan on leaving it long until Hanna was his fiancee. He stroked her cheekbone. "I'll wait for you Han. I'll wait for the timing to be right...I'll wait for you to forgive me. I'll always wait for you" Caleb murmured.

"Caleb, I already forgave you. There wasn't anything to forgive. I...I...I..." Hanna brought her hand up to cover his on her cheek and stared up in to his eyes, and the two moved closer together, inch by inch. Without realising they where doing it, the pair found themselves a breath away from each other.

Caleb knew he should pull back. Hanna had been through so much and he couldn't blame her for needing space. If he...if he did what he wanted to it might be a step in a direction Hanna wasn't ready for. He knew Rollins hadn't touched her. He'd have killed him himself a second time if he had. But Hanna had been tortured. It had taken her a while to even let people touch her. But they loved each other, and they couldn't…they couldn't stay away from each other. He'd been there for Hanna, and he was willing to wait years if he had to, as long as he had her. But right then he wanted to be selfish and close the gap between them. It had been such a long time. Caleb's eyes flicked down to her mouth and back up again. _Back away…back away now._ Caleb told himself, and just when he started to pull away, to do the right thing by Hanna...Hanna's arms where suddenly around his neck and….her lips pressed against his gently. Caleb froze for a moment but when Hanna didn't pull away he immediately wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer and she deepened the kiss. Caleb let Hanna run the show, he didn't want to push her. He wanted her to be comfortable. He wasn't sure how long they would have carried on for if a door hadn't banged open and a snarky voice said "I leave you two alone for five minutes…."

They pulled away from each other quickly, both flushed, and Hanna hid her face in Caleb's chest. Caleb shot Mona a look that clearly said, _Thanks….not._ Mona raised an eyebrow at the pair, holding up the food before placing it down on the table. "I'd ask if you where hungry but judging from the way you where eating each other's faces I'd guess you where ravenous." Caleb shot her a dirty look and Mona ignored it, carrying on blithely.

"We better eat fast. Spencer called me when she couldn't get in touch with either of you, probably because you two where….occupied." Caleb tugged Hanna over to the table and gently pushed her in to a seat, passing her the carton of her favourite Chinese takeout and a fork. He grabbed his own carton and stated wolfing down the contents, checking on Hanna every few minutes to make sure she was eating. She hadn't had much of an appetite, Caleb knew her past problems with food hadn't been with not eating and her lack of appetite was probably just stress after everything, but it worried him anyway and he liked to make sure she was eating something.

"What's happening?" He asked, half his attention on Mona.

"Alison had a little family dinner with Jason and Mary and…Aria" Mona said with a frown of confusion, before quickly shaking it off, "Anyway, Mary decided to have story time and to cut it short….she mentioned Alison's aunt's house having a storm cellar. Alison didn't think one existed, so…."

"So she thinks we should check it out" Caleb finished.

"Exactly" Caleb nodded and carried on shovelling food in to his mouth. It took them fifteen minutes to eat very quickly, and in total silence. A slightly uncomfortable silence after what Mona had witnessed. Just as they where finishing up, Spencer called to let them know she was waiting outside with the others, minus Aria. Hanna was pulling on her coat when Caleb caught her gently by the arm.

"Hey, are you sure you want to go? I mean…you did good today, and it wasn't easy for you…" Hanna cut him off.

"I need to. I can't….I can't keep letting everyone else do everything. Plus I read somewhere you should do something that scares you every day" She said with determination.

"Something Hanna. Which means ONE thing. Not multiple things...you've been through a lot Hanna, we don't know what we're going to find I just...I don't want you to get-"

"I'll be fine Caleb. You'll be there" She smiled. Caleb returned it reluctantly. He was worried something could happen to set Hanna back. She'd been making progress, and after the confirmation of Rollin's death Caleb felt like he was waiting for Hanna to break. But maybe it had helped her, in some..messed up way. Not with having killed him, she was struggling to come to terms with that but...maybe it had alleviated some of the fear.

"I think I'm gonna sit this one out….I'm feeling nauseous all of a sudden" Mona snarked and Hanna rolled her eyes. _She's not even trying to hide her fake snarking anymore._

"See you when we get back" Hanna called.

"Good luck decoding" Caleb called. Mona waved a hand in the air without looking and Hanna and Caleb swiftly exited the apartment, Hanna keeping as close to Caleb as she could until he rolled his eyes and just grabbed her hand.

* * *

Hanna held tightly to Caleb's hand as the group, consisting of herself and Caleb, Spencer, Alison and Emily, made their way round the house in search of the entrance to the cellar, Spencer filling Emily and Alison in on the events of the afternoon. She was trying her best to keep it together, she was in the dark..there where trees….and there where memories scratching at her mind, begging to be let in. But she pushed it all down. Her mantra running through her head over and over keeping them at bay. Caleb's presence and the sense of safety he exuded helped. That and her death grip on his arm. She moved her flashlight around searching the area.

"There's nothing here" she said, exasperated. _Another fail at helping out. Way to go Hanna. Can't even find a damn cellar entrance._

"Cellar's are below ground Hanna" Emily said, pushing her arm down so her torch lit up the ground. Hanna frowned. Caleb tried not to laugh. It was such a…a Hanna comment. He caught Emily's eye and saw her trying to hide a smile. The moment was interrupted by Spencer finding the cellar. _Could this get any creepier?_ Hanna thought with a shudder. Caleb tried to bring his arm around her, but her death grip wouldn't let him.

"Hanna…."

"What?" He rolled his eyes.

"Never mind" he chuckled. _I really hope she loosens her grip before I lose circulation._

They quickly cleared away the foliage and heaved open the doors to the cellar. The other girls filed in to the darkness but Hanna had to take a moment. She stared down in to the dark. Breathing in. Breathing out. _You can do this. You have light. Calebs here. The others are here. I'm not alone. I can do this. I can….I can't….I can't be afraid of the dark for the rest of my life I'm not a little kid. I….I can do this. Caleb's here. I can do this. Rollins is dead. He can't hurt me anymore. Caleb won't let anyone hurt me. He'll make sure I'm safe. I. Can. Do. This._

"Han we can wait out here if you want" Caleb said, studying her face. She shook her head.

"No….no I can do this…." she took a deep breath and started down the steps, Caleb angling his flashlight so she had a bigger pool of light in front of her. His hand a reassuring presence on her back. _Okay I was wrong…it just got creepier._ Hanna thought as she and Caleb finally made it down the steps. Spencer had found a light and switched it on, and she could see photos covering the walls. She thought she saw herself but before she could get a closer look, Spencer called them over to a dingy filing cabinet.

"Jessica had a file on each of us" Hanna peered in to the cabinet, looking through the files.

"She was investigating us"

"Yeah all of us except Aria, she doesn't have a file" Hanna said as she finished rifling through and grabbed her own file. She hated to think what it said about her.

"Do you think somebody took it?" Alison asked with a hint of alarm.

"Yeah but…why?" Emily replied.

"She had Mary's medical files too" Spencer said as she pulled open another drawer. Hanna was too busy examining her own file to pay attention to what Spencer was doing but three words caught her attention.

"….electro shock therapy"

"Wait…back then that was like torture right?" Hanna asked, moving closer to Spencer to look at the file. She swallowed. Flashes of her time in the Barn hitting her like punches. Dark. Cold. Water. Wet. A hum in the air. A pain lancing through her. The smell of her own skin burning. She shook her head. Mary...Mary had been tortured too. Hanna felt a sudden...bond or something with the woman. She knew...she knew what it was like. _Yeah and she probably helped Rollins. Whether or not she was aware of what he did to me...what he had planned...she helped him kidnap me. She helped put me there._

But still Hanna felt for her in that moment. She felt so much empathy for her. Hanna could hear the sound of the prod ringing in her ears….hear the sound it made as it connected with her wet skin. She jumped when Caleb came up behind her and touched her back.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah I just…." Hanna gestured to the file and Caleb nodded with understanding. "I know she's…well we don't know what she is but…I…she...she was tortured too Caleb and...she was nice to me...when she found me, I know she still helped put me there but...I...I...I feel sorry for her."

"It's okay Han. You wouldn't be you, wouldn't be the Hanna I love, if you didn't feel for her. You have a big heart." he said, kissing the side of her head. She smiled and allowed herself a moment to hug him tightly. She tuned back in to what the others where saying from her place in Caleb's arms, pushing aside the thought that Caleb was totally right...they where more than friends.

"Mary had a second child" Emily said with trepidation. A chorus of 'what's' echoed throughout the cellar, Caleb's low, "You've got to be kidding me" cutting across them.

"Wait a second what?" Hanna said, trying to wrap her head around it. She had to agree with Caleb's comment, wholeheartedly. She resisted the urge to curse.

"Boy or girl?" Spencer asked, as if it damn well mattered at that point.

"All it says is no complications due to prior birth" Emily read from the file. "The kid would have been our age by now" Hanna swallowed. It could be anyone…could be someone they know….someone they went to school with...

"So Charlotte had a biological brother or sister" Spencer said slowly.

"Who might want revenge" Emily pointed out and Hanna shivered.

"Well that's great. Now you have another cousin who wants to kill us" Hanna said irritably to Alison. _What is it with her family and the secret psychopathic children out to kill and torture us and…and…._

"Breathe" Caleb said quietly. "You've got your angry face on Han" Hanna shook her head and moved away from the files…away from Alison, grabbing Caleb's hand and pulling her with him as she went to examine the wall of photos.

The others followed her not long after and Spencer pulled another light switch. Newspaper reports about Wilden and Ali and to do with the girls where illuminated, pinned to the wall and covered in dust and cobwebs. Photos of the girls filled the walls in a collage. A creepy collage. Hanna felt a shiver go up her spine as she examined the photos while the others talked.

"Damn…my hair looked good" Hanna couldn't stop the comment slipping out, but it wasn't like it wasn't true and to be honest, it helped to focus on something trivial right then. She heard Caleb snort from his place next to her side and she smiled. Hanna half listened as Ali talked. She felt for her, she really did and she knew it wasn't Ali's fault that she had yet another relative out to get them but she couldn't help but think that Ali was the source of all her problems. Ali and her disappearance…A…..everything they got pulled in to with Wilden…then finding out that Ali wasn't even dead and everything they'd gone through thinking she was. Ali coming back and Hanna's downward spiral. Ali hadn't been the best friend before she went missing. Frenemy might have been a better word and when she first came back…it was like she'd never left. They'd overcome it all but Ali had never really apologised to her and Hanna had done her best to help her with Rollins and all Ali did was make snide comments. The dollhouse had indirectly been to do with Ali. She knew it wasn't fair to blame her but…she hadn't been down there. Hanna had. She'd been mentally tortured by a relative of Ali's and then her husband had actually tortured her and now…there was another one out there, who was probably AD and who was still messing with them and who probably wouldn't mind killing them. Hanna couldn't help but wonder what her life would have been like if she hadn't met Ali. She probably wouldn't have met Caleb…but who knows, maybe she would have anyway. She wouldn't have her friends…except maybe Mona and Lucas, they where never in Ali's circle and Hanna had always been drawn to the two of them. She'd hated how Ali treated them but been too scared to stop it. She was a silly child then...she knew if she went against Ali she'd have been out in the cold. Hefty Hanna without Alison to protect her from the cruelty of teenagers. But maybe it would have been bearable if she'd had Lucas and Mona. Hanna shook herself out of her reverie to catch the tail end of Ali's speech.

"So this place was kind of like her lair" Hanna said, brushing the beam of her flashlight over the wall. The girls and Caleb studied the wall in silence, none of them really sure what to say, …until that silence was shattered by the sound of a car alarm. The only car there…was Spencer's. Hanna gripped Caleb's hand and he squeezed it comfortingly. He and Hanna charged up the stairs after the other girls, Hanna feeling immediate relief being out in the open again, emerging to see all the doors to Spencer's car flung wide and the lights flashing in time with the deafeningly loud alarm.

"Turn it off!" Hanna felt a sense of foreboding. Why was it that every time she went out in the dark something bad happened, it was like a sign or something. _Yeah. A sign never to leave the damn apartment and you're...you're stronger than that. Caleb keeps saying you're strong so act like it Hanna!_

Spencer sprinted towards the car but couldn't shut off the alarm. She called the others over and Hanna abandoned her place by Caleb's side to rush over to the car. She jumped in, slamming the door behind her, the other girls following suit. She couldn't deny she felt slightly safer in the car. No-one was in there except for the girls and...

"Where's Caleb?" Hanna asked, panicked. He'd been right there, she'd thought he was following her. The locks all retracted with a dull thunk. Hanna whipped around to the door and grabbed the handle, tugging on it viciously, getting more and more frenzied as her panic built up. She was trapped. She was trapped and it was dark and she couldn't get out. She felt the walls of the car closing in. She couldn't deal with being trapped...stuck with no way out. It brought everything rushing back. The feeling of powerlessness. The fear. _Caleb where are you_ _?_

"Spencer what are you doing?" Alison asked in alarm and Hanna turned her attention to what was happening in the car.

"I'm not doing anything!" she protested. "What the hell is happening?"

"You tell me it's your car!" Hanna said, failing to hide her panic. Emily grabbed one of her hands and squeezed it, trying to offer some comfort.

"Breathe Han" she said quietly.

"I'm trying" Hanna panted. She jumped at the sudden knocking on her window, managing not to scream. She turned to the window and looked up in fear…..it was only Caleb. She breathed a sigh of relief. _He's fine. He's safe._

"Caleb where the hell did you go?" she demanded.

"I went to check around the house, to see if I could see anyone..you know…the person who set the alarm off maybe?" Caleb said jokingly. But as he got a good look at Hanna's face, he spotted her rising panic.

"Han, open the door" he said calmly, giving a tug on the handle his side.

"I can't!" She practically shrieked, trying not to cry.

"What do you mean you can't?" he said grabbing the handle with both hands and pulling.

"I mean I can't, the car's malfunctioning or something and the locks won't open and I…I can't get out" her voice broke on the last sentence and Caleb felt a stab to the heart.

"Okay, Han, try and stay calm, breathe" he coached through the window, brain frantically trying to work out a plan to get her out of the car.

"Did you see anyone?" Alison demanded.

"If I had, don't you think I'd have led with that?" he snarked, irritated to have his focus drawn from Hanna and trying to help her.

The screen on Spencer's GPS went blood red. The number 20 appearing, large and glaring. Hanna stared at it feeling the colour drain out of her face as the number started to count down in time with an automated voice.

"We're gonna blow up" Hanna said in panic. Tugging on the door harder. Caleb on the other side, pulled on it as hard as he could.

"Hanna! Shut up" Alison snapped clawing at the window. Caleb didn't waste the time it would have taken to send her a withering glare. They where all freaking out, why couldn't Hanna?! _Every damn time, she always has to snark or shout at Hanna. Never mind the fact Hanna's struggling to deal with killing her psychopathic husband who freaking tortured Hanna and had her committed to the crazy house. Hanna did her a freaking favour._ Caleb channeled his anger in to trying to get Hanna out of the car.

"Caleb…Caleb get me out. Caleb please, I'm...I'm trapped..I..I...I don't like it." Hanna said in a broken voice.

"I'm trying!" Caleb said desperately, hitting the window with his fist.

"Spence do you have a jack or anything under the seat to break the window?" Emily said, trying to remain calm and sensible, hoping it would help Hanna who was close to breaking her hand with the force she was using to squeeze it.

"I don't know, I'm really bad at car maintenance" Spencer said in frustration.

"Spence you have to have something!" Emily lost all sense of calm and finally reached panic, the place everyone else was already inhabiting.

"It's probably in the trunk Emily!" Spencer snapped back.

"I'll go get it" Caleb rounded the back of the car and tried to pop the trunk. He tried again. And again. It wouldn't open. He slammed a frustrated fist down on it. "DAMMIT"

"We're gonna blow up, aren't we. That's what count down's mean" Hanna said cried.

"Hanna please!" Spencer shouted.

"Hey, don't shout at her" Caleb snapped, as he came back to Hanna's window.

"Caleb please get me out, please, please…I can't…please…" Hanna started to cry, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. Her mind trying to take her back to the barn..being trapped in the dark..held down…unable to get away….unable to escape. "Caleb" she cried. Caleb gritted his teeth and looked around, he spotted a branch lying on the ground near to one of the trees and he raced over to get it, then came straight back to Hanna's window.

"Hanna get down and cover your face" he instructed and started to try to break the window. Hanna cried, struggling to breathe and repeating Caleb's name over and over. Emily pushed past her panic and wrapped her arms around Hanna, bringing Hanna's head to her shoulder and turning it away from the window in case Caleb managed to shatter it. The count down hit two. "Caleb run!" Hanna screamed. Alison and Spencer ducked and covered their heads. Caleb ignored Hanna's command and kept hitting the window more viciously. Emily still had hold of Hanna and brought her arms up to cover the both of them and forced Hanna down along with her. The count down hit one. Hanna tensed and felt Emily do the same.

Nothing happened. Silence. The girls slowly looked up, straightening up from their protective positions as they did so and looking around. Hanna went straight to the window and Caleb placed his palm on it. Hanna took a deep breath and then placed her palm exactly where his was. If the window wasn't there, they'd have been touching palms and Hanna could really do with the contact from him right about then. _Damn windows. What, did Spencer get freaking bulletproof ones or something?_

Hanna shook her head.

"We're still here" She breathed, trying to calm herself down. The GPS beeped, a new message displayed and the girls leaned in to read it.

**If you find out who I am before I find out who killed Charlotte, YOU DIE. -A.D.**

Hanna read it out to Caleb while the others stared at it, trying to calm down. _I knew it. I knew this new psycho Ali was related to would love to go on a murder spree._ Suddenly an explosion ripped out across the night, everyone ducking and shielding their heads as everything was lit up orange, the roar of the explosion and the subsequent flames momentarily drowning out any other sound.

"CALEB!" Hanna cried, once she realised what had happened. He'd ducked at the sound of the explosion, and he straightened up so he was looking in Hanna's window again. So she could see him...see he was still there. "I'm fine Han, I'm right here" Hanna nodded, panting in fear. She looked back to the front and saw smoke billowing out of the cellar door.

"I'll be back" Caleb said quickly, before rushing over to the cellar door before Hanna could try and stop him. Hanna and the girls watched as he tried to peer in to the cellar, but the smoke was thick and suffocating. They watched Caleb bring his arm up over his eyes, try one last time to see in to the basement, to see if there was a way in and out so he could try to save something…anything. Just one thing that could help Hanna.

Hanna felt the skin on the back of her neck prickle and she slowly moved her head to the side and glanced behind her. Her eyes widened. She could see…..letters and….a figure. A hooded figure.

"Guys" she breathed. Fighting the urge to call out for Caleb. He'd only go running after whoever it was and he might get hurt. Badly. AD had just blown up a damn cellar for Gods sake and threatened to kill them.

"I see you" Ali read out. Hanna shuddered. AD had been right there….he, she, it...hadn't left. They'd been right there…hiding in the darkness….watching them. She faced forward again, not wanting to stare at the words for longer than she had to. The smoke and the flames and the heat where too much for Caleb and he jogged back over to the car, wiping his streaming eyes and coughing out smoke that he'd inhaled. He peered down in to Hanna's window, noting the mood in the car.

"What?" He asked, bewildered. "Hey if Jessica got this info we probably can too" Hanna shook her head and pointed over her shoulder, refusing to look again. Caleb couldn't see through Hanna's window so he walked round to the back of the car. _I see you._ Caleb felt the goosebumps on his arms rise. He walked slowly back to Hanna's window.

"Well….at least creeping you guys out was more important to AD than pushing me in to that flaming inferno of a cellar" Caleb tried to joke. None of the girls reacted, they all just stared at the burning cellar. Possible clues...answers, going up in flames before their very eyes. "Han…Han look at me" Caleb said, she slowly turned her head.

"It's going to be okay" Caleb said, reassuringly. But Hanna didn't agree. _No Caleb. No it's not._


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five

Hanna was walking down the street with the girls and Caleb, sticking as close to Caleb as she could, unwilling to let him out of her sight after what had happened at the cellar. She wanted him close. Wanted the sense of security he offered. She'd hated being locked in that car without him there with her, kind of selfish of her, but she felt safer when Caleb was there, and if he'd been in the car with her, she might have been calmer. More helpful. Maybe even been able to come up with a way out. She wasn't really participating in the discussion the girls where having because as far as she was concerned…there was no discussion to be had. Noel was A. He had to be. He'd written the same thing on Ezra's car, he was shady and he always had been. He was just so damn…A.

He stole the file from Toby, he was mixed up with Jenna who was mixed up with Rollins or Archer or whoever he was. That meant...that meant that Maybe Rollins wasn't the one who'd kidnapped her. Maybe Rollins wasn't the one who'd...who'd tortured her. Maybe it was Noel and he'd passed the information about Charlotte on to Rollins. Or maybe it had been both of them taking turns to torture her. She didn't know. But Noel was always right in the middle of everything, connected to everyone and Hanna didn't hesitate to point that out to them all. She was convinced Noel was A and nothing was going to change her mind, to her...it all made sense. She had all the evidence she needed. Alison was telling them _right now_ that he'd pushed a girl down the freaking stairs at at a frat party and gotten away with it because his parents paid the girl off. The guy was shady, always had been and she'd keep on saying it until someone listened to her. He had been spying on Alison for Charlotte. The same Charlotte who had locked them up in the dollhouse. If he was involved with Charlotte, he could have known about the Dollhouse. Known and not done anything to help them.

He was always involved. It had to be him. There was nothing trustworthy about him, not anymore. He was Uber A and she didn't understand why the others couldn't see that, why they kept debating who was behind what when it was so obvious. He had to be the one who'd burned them out of the cellar…he was probably Mary's other kid. They where wasting time, arguing over whether or not he was any kind of A….he clearly was. Like she'd said…no story with him in it had a happy ending.

"Exactly why we shouldn't be arguing about whether Noel is A, AD, Uber A or whatever. God. I can't believe you guys" Hanna finally snapped in response to Spencer's comment, interrupting the discussion. The discussion they shouldn't even be having. Why did no-one listen to her? Why where they ignoring what was right in front of them? Noel got away with everything…where they going to let him get away with this too? She stormed off across the street and away from her friends, she couldn't stand to be around them any longer, they where wasting time looking for A's in all the wrong places. She didn't understand why they weren't jumping on all the evidence that Noel was A. Didn't understand why she was alone in this. He wasn't a friend of theirs. He'd never treated them all that great. They should have no loyalty to him to make this into a damn debate.

Hanna heard someone following her and knew who it was before he reached out and gently grabbed her arm, bringing her to a stop. Only one person would bother to follow her.

"Hey" he said gently.

"Don't" Hanna whirled to face him, she couldn't contain her anger. After everything…she just couldn't. Because Noel had to have been working with Rollins too, which meant…he was at least partially if not fully to blame for what happened to her in the barn, whether it was him or Rollins doing it or he just knew about it or orchestrated it all...whatever. Pushing that girl was probably like a gateway drug to him, one day he's pushing girls down the stairs...the next he's helping lock them in dollhouses or barns and torturing them. It was probably how he kept himself entertained. "When are they going to realise that Noel Khan is the one that we're after?" she said with frustration.

"They just want to be certain okay?" Caleb tried to reason, "Mary and Jenna are still out there" Hanna couldn't believe it. Caleb was supposed to be on her side…he was supposed to believe her. But clearly he felt the same as everyone else.

"Oh come on. How much more proof do we need, than the words 'I see you' being written on our car outside of the storm cellar? Those where the exact words written on Ezra's car at Camp Mona" Hanna would remember that, because it was one of the details stuck in her head when she'd been mown down by a damn car. Besides, she highly doubted Jenna was capable of doing it. Unless she was being fake blind again...maybe she should test her?

"I know okay, I get it, it's just that-" Hanna's heart twanged. He didn't believe her. He really didn't. He probably thought she was crazy and overreacting again. Like she had with the whole "Rollins is still alive" thing. They probably all did. Poor broken Hanna, jumping to conclusions because she was so damn paranoid after being tortured in a barn.

"You don't believe me either" she said, failing to mask the hurt in her voice.

"Look we have to be completely positive before we do anything rash" Caleb said gently. She didn't want to hear it.

"Well I am. And by now if you're not…I don't know what's going to change your mind" she turned and walked away. She was done with this conversation. No-one ever believed her, not even Caleb, the one person who was supposed to. Why couldn't they just trust her for once, she was supposed to be their friend but nothing she ever said mattered. So fine. She was going to do what she had to to prove that Noel was Uber A, if she didn't matter so much then no-one would care if she did. She was done letting people mess with her, letting people get away with it. She was going to end this…take back control of her life.

"Hanna-" Caleb started as he followed her. He was cut off by the sound of a car starting a little way up the street, breaking the silence of the night. Bright headlights illuminated them and Hanna flinched at the sudden bright light. They both turned in the direction it came from, squinting in to the glare of the headlights and watched as a car started to speed towards them. Hanna couldn't move…she could only watch, frozen.

"Hanna look out!" Caleb shouted and he shoved her out of the way with enough force to send her sprawling on to the street and out of harms way. She hit the ground hard, scraping her palms and she dimly heard a dull impact, crunching metal and squealing brakes. She gathered her bearings and then slowly turned her head to look behind her….and there he was. Noel Khan. Sitting in the car that had sped right at them and he…he smiled right at her. Hanna stared at his smug face for a few moments, hating him more than she'd ever hated anyone before…except for maybe Rollins. Hanna finally tore her eyes away from him and scanned the area for Caleb. It took her a moment to spot him. He was lying on his back on the road. His eyes where closed. He wasn't moving. He was completely still…his chest…he wasn't breathing. Hanna registered the words "Caleb" and "Dead" as they floated across her thoughts…and then she screamed. It was her worst nightmare come to life. Caleb…dead….because of her. Because of A. She didn't think…she just opened her mouth and screamed.

She was still screaming when she jolted awake. She heaved in ragged breaths. It had felt so…so real...

Once AD's message had been delivered, whatever malfunction the car had, was undone. The locks had clicked open and Hanna had bolted out of the car and in to Caleb's waiting arms, burying her face in his chest as he comforted her. She'd refused to get back in to the car after what had happened, and no-one else had really wanted to get back in either, so it had been decided that Spencer would go back and get her car in the morning and they'd all walk home. She'd walked next to Caleb, tightly gripping his hand, on edge being out in the dark even with a group, and they'd discussed the possibility of Noel being Uber A, just like in her nightmare. It had felt wrong discussing A things so openly when anyone could hear them but she'd been too shaken up to question it at the time.

Alison had told them all about Noel…about the incident with the girl at the party and how his parents had made it go away. How he'd been spying on Alison for Charlotte. Hanna had been processing all of the information. She'd told the others she thought it was Noel…but they hadn't all agreed. When Hanna had shown signs of getting worked up about it, Caleb had said goodbye to the others, wrapped his arm around her and hurried her away, trying to soothe her as they walked. She knew he didn't like it when she got upset, but she couldn't help it. No-one was listening to her. They'd made it back to the apartment in record time and once inside, they'd settled down on the couch, Hanna wrapped in Caleb's arms, perched in his lap. He'd filled Mona in on everything that had happened, she hadn't said anything either way about Noel, Hanna wasn't sure if it was because she wanted time to process everything and come to her own conclusions or because she'd dated him and was struggling to reconcile the two Noels, although he hadn't been that good a boyfriend, if Hanna's memory served. Hanna had been so exhausted she didn't care and she really didn't want to argue with Mona. She hadn't pressed Caleb for an answer either. An argument with him...finding out he didn't believe her either..that would hurt more than anyone else. So she figured she was better of not knowing for now. She couldn't stop herself from hoping he'd believe her. When she'd kept quiet throughout the conversation and struggled to keep her eyes open, they'd said goodnight to Mona and headed to bed. She'd fallen asleep wrapped in Caleb's arms, feeling safe if not altogether comforted, thoughts of Noel and A plaguing her, and then…the nightmare.

Caleb jolted awake at Hanna's scream, momentarily disorientated at the sudden awakening, but when he heard Hanna's ragged breathing he'd immediately sat up and reached for her...only to find Hanna already ahead of him, throwing herself in to his arms and wrapping her arms around him tightly. He was momentarily stunned, before quickly putting his arms around her.

"Han? Han what is it?" he said with concern. She was shaking, badly.

"I…I…I had a nightmare and it was so…so real..I thought…I thought…" Hanna's head was buried in his chest, and he had to tilt his head down to hear what she was saying. Her arms had a surprisingly strong grip as she squeezed him, and he pulled her a little closer to him. Unsettled at her behaviour, she was hugging him as if...as if...he couldn't put his finger on it.

"It's okay Han, it was just a nightmare….it wasn't real, whatever it was" Caleb assumed it was a nightmare about the Barn or what had happened that evening, or about killing Rollins. Hanna had a lot of fuel for nightmares and none of it was going to go away easily, this wasn't the first time she'd woken up screaming from a nightmare, he and Mona had an understanding that he would try to help her first, calm her down and comfort her, after all, he was the one who had the most success at it, and if he wasn't enough, then he'd get Mona. The first time Mona had stayed and Hanna had a nightmare, Mona had come rushing in with a baseball bat and Hanna had freaked out at the sudden intrusion, not realising at first that it was Mona. Caleb hadn't wanted any repeats of that. He wished he could make it all go away for Hanna, the nightmares, everything she was feeling...struggling with, but all he could do was be there for her, calm her down, and listen to her when she wanted to talk. "Was it Rollins?" he asked quietly.

"N-no" Hanna said. Caleb waited for her to continue, but after a few moments of silence he decided to prompt her again. He figured it was better for her to talk about it all…get it out in the open, so she wasn't internalising everything. "So what was it about?" he asked. Hanna started to cry. Caleb resisted the urge to panic. He hated it when Hanna cried, and even more so when he made her cry. "Han don't cry, if you don't want to talk about it you don't have to" Caleb said quickly, rubbing her back.

"N-no, it's not that…it's…the nightmare it…it…you died. I-I-I-I thought I'd lost you" Caleb held her tighter.

"It wasn't real Han, I'm right here okay? I'm not going anywhere, you'll never lose me." he murmured.

"But it felt real Caleb. It was like earlier tonight…but..but I got angry because no-one would believe me about Noel being Uber A, and I stormed off and…and..you followed me and we argued because you didn't believe me either, and then…then…this car, it came out of nowhere and….and…and you pushed me out of the way and that's such a Caleb thing to do, protect me and get hurt instead and…and…I turned around and Noel was driving and he smiled at me and you where on the ground and…and…and you where just lying there….you weren't moving….you weren't breathing, you where dead Caleb and it was all my fault. A killed you, because of me. It was like..like revenge or karma or something for when I…I….when I hit Rollins…." Hanna sobbed in to his chest.

"I believe you Han, I'm always on your side okay? If you think Noel is A, then I believe you. The others need a little more convincing but I believe you, I promise." Hanna nodded in to his chest. Caleb couldn't deny that he'd protect Hanna. If a car was speeding at them he would push her out of the way. It didn't matter the situation, he would always protect Hanna, always save her. "I'll always protect you Hanna, that it isn't going to change. I can't let you get hurt, because when you get hurt...it breaks me Han."

"You can't Caleb..you..you care about me too much and…and one day you'll die because of it. You'll…you'll…"

"Hanna. There's no such thing as caring too much okay? I love you. I'm allowed to care, there's no limit to how much I can care about you. I don't want you to ever get hurt again, not after what you've been through. I'd rather get hurt than see you in pain. I just want to make sure you're safe. If it makes you feel better, if there's ever a car speeding at us, instead of pushing you, I'll tackle you, then we can be both be safe, okay?" Caleb tried to lighten the mood.

"O-o-okay" Hanna said shakily, "But that goes for everything okay? You can't..you can't get hurt, I don't...I can't-"

"Okay" Caleb promised, cutting her off before she could upset herself even more.

"Just…please don't die" Hanna said softly.

"I won't. I won't leave you Han. I'd never leave you." Caleb promised, kissing her head. He had no intention of ever leaving her again, in any capacity. He would do whatever it took to keep her safe, and he'd always be there to keep her safe. Hanna suddenly stiffened.

"I read about dreams-"

"Seriously Hanna, I'm going to block anything with internet from letting you on Wikipedia" Caleb interrupted. She slapped him on the chest.

"Let me finish, this is serious. I read about dreams and…and what they mean. What if ….what if this is a warning? What if it's telling me that if I can't get the others to believe me about Noel..someone's going to get hurt?"

"Hanna-"

"What if…what if the dream comes true if they don't believe me…what if it's you. What if…what if the dreams trying to tell me that you're in danger? That something's going to happen to you? What if Noel's going to…to target you to get me to leave him alone? To stop me from trying to expose him? What if…what if….what if he's going to kill you? What if…." she babbled.

"Hanna" Caleb said firmly. "I don't think you've suddenly developed the skill of premonition overnight, this isn't an episode of Charmed." Caleb said with a chuckle.

"You watch Charmed?" Hanna was distracted momentarily by the prospect.

"Not the point" Caleb flushed. "The point is…it was just a nightmare. A nightmare caused by you worrying about Noel being A. It didn't mean anything" Hanna didn't look convinced.

"Are you sure? Are you sure you're fine?"

"Yes Hanna, I'm fine" he said firmly.

"Really fine?" Caleb smirked.

"Yeah, I'm really fine"

"That's not what I meant!" she slapped his arm this time.

"I know" he said teasingly. "Hanna. I've been in bed all night. With you. Nothing's happened to me. I'm good" She nodded, letting out a sigh and Caleb hugged her tighter, settling them back down in bed. Before drifting off to sleep he sent Mona a quick text, knowing full well she'd be awake and waiting to see if she was needed. He figured she'd be up early enough to have time to complete his request. It was seconds before he got a reply. He smiled and snuggled his face in to Hanna's neck, closing his eyes, and drifting off to sleep inhaling the unique smell that was Hanna. His home.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Six

The next morning dawned bright and early. Hanna and Caleb had managed to drift off to sleep again and for Hanna, this time it was free of nightmares. Caleb ventured out in to the main room while Hanna finished getting ready. Mona was manning their many computer screens. They had CCTV from the Radley so they could keep an eye on Jenna, and programmes running the code. Much as they'd tried…neither of them had been able to crack it. They where struggling, which had Mona incredibly pissed off. She didn't take failure well…or being bested by Jenna. He'd tried to tell her Jenna probably hadn't been the one to code it but…Mona was taking it pretty personal, whoever it was. They where trying their best, but it wasn't going to be easy…or fast. The only thing not in code was Mary's DNA and none of them had any clue why.

"Hey, any luck?" Caleb asked, knowing full well Mona had been up early keeping track of everything, amidst running that errand for him.

"No. The DNA is still the only code free information we have" Mona said with frustration. Caleb chuckled. _Oh Mona really isn't good at losing._

"Heard anything about Mary?"

"There's been no sign of her at Alison's or the Lost Woods" Hanna chimed in to the conversation as she entered the room, waving her phone at them having obviously checked in with the other girls. "What about Jenna, any tapping around we need to be worried about?" She asked Mona, coming over to peer at the CCTV screen.

"She hasn't left her room" Caleb and Mona replied at the same time. Hanna laughed at them. A real laugh. Caleb and Mona smiled at the sound of it.

"I guess Noel's taking the lead while Jenna practices her flute" Hanna's tone turned dark, no doubt thinking of where she'd like to shove that flute.

"Speaking of Noel…." Mona turned to Caleb. "I got what you asked for last night, you're lucky I enjoy getting up early"

"Did you get enough?" Mona gave him a 'duh' look and handed him a box.

"What are you talking about" Hanna asked, trying to peer inside.

"Your new phone" he said casually, as Mona reached in to the box and grabbed the one near the top, with a fancy cover on it. Mona had obviously fixed it up especially for Hanna, because the others hadn't had the same treatment.

"What?" Hanna asked, eyeing the new phone with distrust.

"It's 100% percent bug free. I asked Mona to get it and some for the rest of you guys too, last night. We can't be too careful with Noel and Jenna on the prowl." Caleb said matter of factly.

"Really? I hate breaking in new phones" Hanna didn't look as pleased as Caleb had hoped.

"Noel has found his way in to your dreams, that's close enough" Caleb didn't want him getting near Hanna. He was inside of her head, he didn't need to be in her phone too. Hanna's phone was like…a second brain to her. Hanna sighed and handed over her phone to Caleb reluctantly. Mona handed her the new phone.

"Don't worry Han. I got you a cute cover, and I set it up just how you like" Mona said reassuringly.

"Thanks Mona" Hanna said gratefully.

"Han…I just want you to know..I'm your friend okay."

"O-kay?" Hanna replied, confused.

"So I believe you. About Noel. I believe you" Mona said with determination. Caleb watched as a look of relief crossed Hanna's face.

"Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Well duh. Noel's always been an asshole" she said casually. Hanna beamed at Mona and Mona returned the smile before Hanna hugged her tightly.

"Thank you" Caleb heard her murmur.

"You don't need to thank me Han…like I said. I'm your friend" Mona said with a shrug.

Once Hanna had moved off to make a pot of coffee for the three of them in anticipation of the long day ahead, Caleb turned to Mona.

"So how much did you hear last night?" he said casually.

"Enough. I believe Hanna, the evidence against him doesn't look good. But if the others need more…then we'll get more. They should believe Hanna without it but…" Mona trailed off with a shrug.

"Agreed. I don't know what they're going to do, but I say…we focus on Noel. Hanna's so sure it's Noel, and the others just…they don't believe like she does. I'll do whatever it takes to ease her mind, whether we end up proving or disproving that it's him. He's our main suspect as far as I'm concerned." Mona nodded in agreement, then hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"I know you want to protect Hanna…but if you got hurt, or died doing it…she'd never forgive herself. So protect Hanna…but be careful. If you died…I don't think she'd come back from that" Mona said seriously. Caleb nodded.

"Like I told Hanna..I'm not going to leave her." Caleb said firmly.

"We don't always get to make that choice Caleb. Just.." He cut her off.

"I know. I'll be careful. But if it comes down to me and her? I'm going to protect her" Mona sighed.

"I thought you'd say that."

"After the Barn…I can't let her get hurt again Mona." Mona nodded but before she could respond Hanna returned.

"What are you two talking about?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing" they both said at the same time and Hanna glanced between them suspiciously.

"Soooo…what's the plan for today?" Caleb asked, trying to distract her. Hanna shrugged, dropping her gaze.

"After last night? I kind of just want to..to.." Caleb looked at her questioningly. "Can we just stay here? I know we should be out there hunting down Noel but….last night kind of….it…" she shuddered slightly and Caleb could practically see the Barn in her eyes and he reacted quickly.

"Sure Han. We can all just…chill" Caleb said reassuringly. Hanna nodded gratefully.

"I thought…that you guys could work on the code and I could, maybe….maybe work on some designs" Hanna said tentatively. "I need some to show to Lucas and whatever"

"Sounds like a plan" Mona said, giving Hanna an encouraging look as she seemed a bit...shy about the whole thing. The trio found themselves ensconced in the main room of Hanna's apartment, cheesy chick flick on the TV, Mona and Caleb working at the code, and trying not to let on to Hanna how frustrated they where, knowing she'd end up abandoning her sketches to try and help them. Hanna herself was sat with them at the table, drawing pencils and pens scattered around her along with fabric samples and a sketch pad in front of her. By the time they'd hit the mid day mark, Hanna had already drawn one and was working on her next one, while Mona and Caleb where feeling kinda like they where slacking off, just sitting and staring at screens. But it wasn't like they could make the programmes go faster. Caleb actually found himself paying attention to whatever ridiculous movie was playing, and getting way more invested than he ever wanted to be. He'd tried to help Hanna..but he had no clue what he was doing, which had quickly become apparent. She'd actually gone in to his t-shirt drawer and pulled out one that she said was "horrendously hideous" and that she couldn't believe he owned. Fashion had never really been his thing but he usually did okay and sometimes Hanna had helped him, whenever she could drag him to a mall. He actually thought the shirt was kind of cool, but once Mona had started mocking it too? Caleb had let Hanna throw it out and then he'd sat there quietly watching her with her designs.

* * *

Hanna was doing well with her designs, if she kept up her current pace she'd have four to show to Lucas, which was more than he was probably expecting but she figured he'd be pleased. She knew she should be out there with Caleb, working out what to do next…what to do about Noel. Trying to figure out who Mary's other kid was. But last night..being in that car, being trapped and unable to get out..it had put her back in a really bad place. The entire walk back it was a struggle to stay in the present, and not drift back to a dark, dank barn. Everytime she'd let her mind wander, she could hear herself screaming, smell skin burning, see darkness lit up with the flash of electricity meeting it's target. She'd managed to shake it off…but only because her mind had then focused on Noel, running through all the evidence, putting pieces together.

The nightmare hadn't helped. She didn't want to go out. Not just because it made her anxious…made her uncomfortable…made her scared, she knew Rollins was dead, that he couldn't hurt her but the realisation that Noel may have been the one in the barn...or at least may have been working with Rollins while she was in the barn..that had her scared. Because Noel was still out there, and he was bigger than her, and stronger than her. Her other reason for staying locked in the apartment was because of the nightmare. Because if they where safely ensconced in the apartment…Caleb was safe and nowhere near any moving vehicles or roads or anything that could hurt him...or anyone. She guessed she just needed a day to…to focus on other things, to be normal. And Caleb and Mona where giving her that. She was grateful to them. She was well aware they where getting nowhere with the code, and it was frustrating them, they where trying to hide it but she could read the both of them. She knew they'd probably like to go out and do some digging, do something useful. But they hadn't complained once. They where sitting there, doing whatever they could and letting her…attempt to be normal for a few hours. Mona encouraging her and asking her questions about her ideas. Caleb trying to help, but…that damn shirt was the only evidence she needed to prove to him he couldn't be trusted with fashion. _I knew he'd be getting rid of that…thing._ She shuddered at the remembrance of it.

Hanna had been starting to feel normal. Locked in her bubble with Mona and Caleb, she felt like a normal person. Working. Relaxing. Joking with her friend and her…..friend. She and Caleb hadn't really talked about the kiss..there'd been the cellar and the car and then she'd gone right to sleep and then…then the nightmare and then they'd spent all day with Mona and couldn't really talk about it with her right there. She wasn't avoiding him but…she wasn't going out of her way to get to the conversation. _Why does there even need to be a conversation anyway? We just kissed. It's not like we haven't done it before._ She griped. She…she didn't know what to do. Keeping Caleb at arms length…letting him be her friend but nothing more? That kept him safe. Everytime she thought about their kiss…it was followed by the nightmarish sound of a body hitting a car and Noel Khans smug smile. She loved Caleb…and she wanted to keep him safe. Even if that meant just being friends. She found her gaze wandering to Caleb….who was watching her. He smiled when their eyes met and Hanna returned it tentatively. _I have no idea what I'm doing._ She thought as she stared in to his brown eyes. She forced her eyes down and back to what she was doing but she could feel his gaze on her.

As she filled in the detail on one of her designs, her shoulder twinged and she winced. She'd been in the same position for hours now, drawing and writing and colouring, but she was trying to push through the ache that had started up and down her arm. She reached up and massaged her shoulder. It had been a few years since she'd actually sat down and drawn up designs, she figured she was out of practice. It was like a weird sort of workout for her and she was probably pushing herself too far. She should probably take a break but…she was on a roll with her designs and she just wanted to carry on working on them….keeping her mind off of other things and feeling normal for once in her life. She hadn't felt normal since she'd come back to Rosewood. It was kind of hard to with everything she ended up involved in. Drawing up the designs for Lucas…for her company….it gave her hope, something to work towards. As she massaged her shoulder, pulling the skin, she accidentally pulled her burn. The burn… _he_ had left. That still hadn't faded. Some of the others weren't as….livid, glaring as they had been. They'd started to heal, and the bruises had started to fade. But this burn? It was still there and it didn't look like it was moving anytime soon. A glaring reminder everytime she looked at it, of what had happened to her. Caleb had said it showed she was a survivor, that she was strong and brave, but she didn't feel that way at all whenever she had the misfortune to look at it.

"Do you want the stuff?" Caleb, who'd been watching her, asked, gesturing over his shoulder at the bathroom. Hanna nodded gratefully, and he practically jumped out of his seat and headed towards the bathroom, clearly glad to be doing something to help. Caleb had gotten her some stuff to put it on that was supposed to help it heal and ease the pain and it usually worked pretty well, it had made things easier for her, the pain wasn't there as a constant reminder. He returned a couple of moments later with the bottle and Hanna pulled her hoody down her arm to expose her shoulder. As she did she caught a glimpse of it in the mirror behind her chair. She stared and her eyes where overcome with darkness. She could feel the water seeping through what little clothing she wore. She could hear the sound of electricity powering on. She could hear herself screaming.

_No…no….no….no..please! Stop it, please stop._

The memories faded away as Caleb's hand gently touched it, snapping her out of it. She looked up at him standing at her side, and she could see from his facial expression that he knew where she'd just been. He didn't say anything, just gently brushed the cream on to the burn, then moved his hand up to cup the back of her neck, bringing her head towards him and placing a quick kiss on her temple.

"Han-" a knock at the door interrupted him and Hanna pulled her hoody back in place. Mona got up and went to get the door, opening it a crack and cautiously peering out, Hanna figured she had some sort of weapon at hand to bludgeon any would be attacker. She'd probably enjoy it too if it was Noel.

"Uh…Hanna…it's for you...I think" she said. Hanna frowned and slowly approached the door, Caleb hot on her heels and trying to get in front of her, to protect her..shield her. She could feel his body heat from his place at her back as she opened the door wide, reaching it before him.

"Goodness Hanna, you look like you've seen a ghost"

_What the hell…_


	27. Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Mrs Grunwald what are you doing here?" Hanna asked in shock. She was the last person Hanna had expected to show up on her doorstep. She noticed Caleb tense out of the corner of her eye as he moved up to stand next to her. Mrs Grunwald started to walk forward, entering the apartment and looking around. Hanna shut the door behind her, shooting Caleb a look.

"Are you…alone?" she asked them.

"Um….I'm kind of standing right here?" Mona waved from the side of the door.

"Me too" Caleb chimed in. Grunwald turned back to Hanna.

"I mean….are you alone?" she stared right at Hanna and has Hanna met her eyes it was like the woman was staring right in to her soul. Hanna may be with Mona and Caleb…they may be helping her and trying to understand. But they hadn't been through what she had. They couldn't completely understand and…sometimes that made her feel a little alone. The 'I've been tortured by a psychopath' club didn't have many members. She swallowed and refused to look at Caleb, she could feel him studying her. She appreciated everything he had done for her…but yeah. She felt alone. He wasn't inside her head with her..he couldn't know what it was like in the barn. What it was like when she thought Rollins was alive. He believed her about Noel but…he didn't have the same conviction as her...didn't understand.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude but..what are you doing here?" she asked instead of answering, refusing to look at the woman and her freaky soul penetrating eyes.

"I had a dream" she said in her lilting voice. Hanna's head snapped up and she looked at Grunwald. She'd had a dream..a nightmare…and then Grunwald shows up having also had a dream? Hanna found it hard to believe in coincidence. She could see Caleb in her peripheral shooting the woman a look, most likely irritated that after having calmed her down here was Grunwald, bringing up dreams and ready to freak her out all over again. Hanna ignored it.

"What happened in it?" she asked quietly. Her own 'dream' replaying in her mind.

"I've never considered the content of dreams to be important" She started. "It's the impressions they leave that affect me."

"Impressions?" Hanna had a pretty big…impression from her dream. Grunwald made a noise of agreement.

"Well in this case, the dream left me quite unsettled. The sense was strong enough that I felt compelled to come here" Hanna had a bad feeling. Her dream, her nightmare about Caleb….the sense that maybe he was in danger from Noel…then Grunwald having a dream leaving her freaked enough to come all the way here? If it had her freaked it couldn't be good. She felt Caleb move closer and take her hand. She knew he probably didn't buy any of this dream stuff, probably didn't want the woman filling her head with ideas, but Hanna…she needed to know.

"The sense of what?"

"A darkness. Around you….and Caleb" Hanna felt her stomach drop out. She and Grunwald had both had a dream…..and it was bad for Caleb in both. Her hand tightened on his reflexively. Caleb was in danger. She knew it. Her nightmare meant something. Noel was AD and he was going to hurt Caleb. She couldn't let that happen.

"Hanna…Han…it was just a nightmare okay. I'm fine. I'm not in any danger okay?" Grunwald opened her mouth, most likely to contradict him, but he stopped her. "No. Just no. Hanna…she was terrified this morning okay. I'm not having you coming in here and stirring it all up again. It was just a nightmare. It wasn't a portent of doom okay?" Grunwald gave him a look but he shook it off and turned back to Hanna. He framed her face in his hands. "Hanna look at me. I'm fine. I'm going to be fine. There's no danger, nothing's going to hurt me." Hanna stared in to his eyes and he knew he was going to lose this battle because Hanna cared about him too much to risk anything. She was as terrified of losing him as he was of losing her. He sighed.

"I want…I want to talk to her…I need to" Hanna said, staring past him at Grunwald. The woman smiled and Caleb resisted the urge to shudder.

"Mona needs to keep working on the code, let's go someplace else" Caleb said, sending Mona a look when she moved to protest. He didn't want Grunwald in here any longer than she had to be…tainting the place with Ravenswood.

Hanna nodded. It was daylight, Caleb would be with her, and they'd be in public. Her burning curiosity and need to protect him was overriding any personal fears anyway.

"Of course. I saw a lovely hotel…." Caleb groaned internally. _Of course she did._

* * *

Hanna and Caleb soon found themselves ensconced opposite Grunwald in the bar of the Radley. Hanna had felt fear walking out of that apartment, she always did these days. But she felt safe in her mother's hotel. Caleb had fixed the security there and he was right there with her. She didn't fear Grunwald. Grunwald was going to help her protect Caleb…help her understand what was going on. She focused on the woman in front of her. If she wanted help, she was going to have to tell her what had been going on so they could make sense of their dreams…of the sense she had.

"Are you and Caleb alright?" she asked. Hanna swallowed.

"Caleb and I…we're definitely not alright"

"Hey!" Caleb protested, and she knew he was going to make a comment about the kiss so she cut him off at the knees.

"Not like that." she directed at him, managing an eyeroll, before turning her attention back to Grunwald. "None of us are alright. Someone's been trying to hurt us" Hanna mentally added the 'again'.

"Do you know who that someone is?" Grunwald asked, attention fully on Hanna. _The woman may be creepy but at least she's willing to listen…and hopefully shed some light on everything._

"I think so" Hanna nodded. "The others aren't quite so sure" She knew Caleb believed her, and so did Mona, but she also knew that the two of them wanted to be on her side…be there for her. But they didn't believe as strongly as she did. As for the others…they definitely didn't believe her. But maybe Grunwald would be proof enough.

"I believe you Hanna, and so does Mona. It's got to be Noel, you're right. But the others are going to need more evidence, Mona and I are working on it…or we will be" he interrupted and Hanna turned to him. She could see the sincerity in his eyes.

"By any chance, does that person have a connection with this hotel?" Grunwald asked, not acknowledging that Caleb had even spoken.

"Yeah…yeah he's staying here" Hanna said urgently. "He attacked Alison, he kidnapped me and..someone just died in this hotel!" she didn't mention the part about Noel maybe not being the one who'd kidnapped her…but there was a strong possibility. She just couldn't be sure. Noel…or Rollins. Either way he was involved. So it wasn't technically a lie.

Caleb on the other hand, wasn't sure when Hanna had jumped to thinking Noel had been the one to kidnap her. He might have..but it might have been his order and Rollins carrying it out. They just didn't know. Although if Caleb found out he had touched Hanna….Noel was a dead man, even if he'd just been the architect behind it all, even if it was his plan. But he'd need proof for that, something he didn't have…yet. He hoped for Hanna's sake that it was Rollins because she really didn't need to wrestle with the possibility of killing someone who hadn't actually done anything to her. He may not have been taking Alison to kill her, but as far as they knew…he was the one who'd tortured Hanna, if that wasn't true he knew it would eat Hanna up inside.

"Many people died here Hanna. Before it became a hotel. Their pain radiates through these walls. Their cries of anguish…still echo." Hanna swallowed, remembering all the things they'd seen in Radley. The hidden parts…what they'd learned. "Do you hear them?" Grunwald turned her piercing eyes to Hanna. Hanna looked around…trying to see whatever it was Grunwald was seeing…hear whatever she was hearing. But she couldn't. She could imagine though, and sometimes imagination was worse than reality.

"No" she said. Caleb echoing her. _Yep. That's right. I'm still here._ He thought at Grunwald who was totally focused on Hanna.

"You're lucky. It's…deafening" Grunwald said quietly. Hanna didn't know what to say that.

"I'm sorry" she managed, and she was. She didn't know what Grunwald heard or saw in her every day life. But it clearly took a toll on the woman and Hanna felt for her. Nobody understood her…what she'd seen…what she'd been through either. Grunwald took a moment to compose herself and Caleb's hand snaked out to grab Hanna's, squeezing it.

"I apologise if my coming here disturbed you" Grunwald finally said and Hanna decided to cut to the chase. There where things she needed to ask..things she needed to know and she didn't want to waste any more time dancing around it.

"You say you feel this darkness, around us." Hanna said, leadingly, getting straight to the point.

"I wanted to warn you that you're in danger but I see that you already know that"

"But from who?" Hanna asked the question she'd been desperate to ask for a while now. She knew Grunwald…knew things. Things no-one else did.

"All I know, is that the source of the threat against you…is close" she said, concern written across her face. "Very close" she saw the woman's eyes shift to something behind her, and she turned, Caleb mirroring her. Noel Khan was standing right there. She wasn't sure if Grunwald had done it deliberately or if his appearance had caught her attention, but there was one way to find out. Grunwald could confirm whether or not it was Noel..if he was the danger.

The thought of attracting Noel's attention…the person who had potentially had a hand in torturing her..made her want to run away and hide. She didn't want to be anywhere near him. He…he scared her. But she needed to do this. She needed to keep Caleb and her friends safe. Caleb kept saying how brave she was…she needed to live up to that. She took a breath and drained her glass.

"Hanna what are you doing?" Caleb asked in concern, eyeing Noel. She dropped her glass on the floor and turned quickly. She saw Grunwald watching him. She could hear him approaching and she tensed. She couldn't help it. Her heart started to pound. _I need to be brave. I need to protect Caleb. I need to be brave._ She repeated. But the closer he got…the less brave she felt. Caleb moved closer to her and wrapped an arm around her, comfortingly.

"I won't let him hurt you" he murmured in her ear.

"Hello Hanna" Noel said, looming over her. She turned to face him. She repressed a shudder. He was smiling…the same smile from her nightmare. "Take any country drives lately" he said, flaring his eyes with meaning. She couldn't respond. She couldn't force her mouth to open. She was barely breathing. She felt…she felt terror run through her as she stared in to his eyes. She felt Caleb stiffen at the implication and tightened her grip on his hand to keep him from doing something stupid. A hand landed on her and Caleb's joined ones and she finally tore her eyes away from Noel to look at Grunwald. She watched as the woman stared at Noel. _She's doing that freaky eye thing._ She thought to herself and she sat up a little straighter. This reaction…it had to mean something didn't it? A memory flashed across her brain.

_A barn door opening. A figure standing there. An overwhelming sense of terror. Wet clothes sticking to clammy skin. Electricity humming. Sharp pain exploding across her body. "No stop!"_

Hanna shook it off. _Did….did Grunwald do that? Did she…did she bring that memory to the surface? But was it mine or…or was it Noels?_ She turned to look at Noel, feeling the concern radiating off of Caleb and catching a glimpse of his facial expression. He did not look happy. His grip on her was tight, and he was tensed to swing at Noel at any moment. She studied Noel…he was big enough to match the impression of a figure she'd seen, but she couldn't be sure. It had been dark..so dark. She knew he was strong enough. He'd have had no problem…holding her down and…..and….she swallowed. Noel smirked at her and she had to look away as another memory surfaced.

_Desperately banging on a rough wooden door. "Please, please let me out of here" she begged, tears running down her face. Electricity humming through the air, getting louder the closer it got to her. Tensing for the blow, but not knowing where it was going to hit. The pain as it made contact with her chilly, wet skin. Screaming in pain. Begging him to stop. "Stop, please stop, please" unable to move because of the pain, unable to run away. Trapped._

Caleb squeezing her hand brought her out of it. He was staring at her, well aware of where she went when she checked out. But….she thought Grunwald was the one bringing the memories up….she had to be. Noel was right there, Grunwald was doing her soul staring thing and…and Hanna was seeing her time in the barn. It had to mean something. It had to mean that Noel…Noel was the one in the barn. He was the one torturing her which meant…she'd killed an innocent man. He hadn't been taking Ali to kill her….he hadn't tortured her. He'd made Ali think she was crazy and she knew she was protecting her friend but…Rollins hadn't done anything to her. It was Noel. It had all been Noel. He'd been working with Rollins but…if this meant what she thought it did…Noel had been the one torturing her. She turned her gaze to Grunwald in time to see a stream of crimson started to leak from her nose. Hanna stared in concern, unsure how to help her.

"Freaks" Noel said, before walking away, and Hanna managed to relax and take a deep breath as soon as his presence was gone. Hanna hurriedly offered the woman a tissue to stem the blood, and she and Caleb shared a look. She knew Caleb hadn't seen what she had but..he'd seen her reaction and he knew her well enough to know what had happened, and a few seconds later he confirmed her suspicions.

"Han…Rollins wasn't exactly husband of the year okay? He was a bad seed. He was….he was evil. Even if he…even if it wasn't him, he still did all of that to Alison. He might not have been going to kill her…that night but we don't know what his plan was for sure. You where protecting your friend and anyway…it was an accident. You're not a killer Hanna." he said softly. Hanna nodded, not really believing him. It had gotten…not exactly easier but…knowing that he'd been the one to torture her…it had made it manageable. What she'd done to him and how she felt about that. Everyone kept saying it was an accident but there had been hesitation and…it wasn't justified if he hadn't…hadn't been the one in the barn. She shook her head, going back to the more pressing issue. Noel was A. The question was…was this going to be enough proof for the others? As far as Hanna was concerned….this was the final nail in the coffin. But she knew the others would take more convincing and for all she knew? Maybe after everything that had happened to her...maybe she had finally cracked, maybe...maybe she wasn't thinking straight. She didn't know. But she knew she couldn't feel at ease with Noel out there.

* * *

Once they'd ensured Mrs Grunwald was okay, they'd headed back to the apartment, sending out the call to have everyone meet them there. As soon as they'd walked in Mona had taken one look at Hanna's face and pulled her in to a hug. One by one the others had arrived.

Caleb knew this wasn't going to be easy. He had watched Hanna get lost in memories. He knew Grunwald was….peculiar, but he wasn't sure what exactly had happened. Had she used her…gift to tap Noel's memories and it had somehow gone across to Hanna from the contact, or had being in such close proximity to Noel, with Grunwald seemingly proving it was him, triggered the memories in Hanna. He couldn't deny, Noel looked pretty guilty and he wasn't going to dismiss Grunwald's reaction lightly. He just…he knew what Hanna was thinking, he'd seen it in her eyes briefly. The brief flash of resignation that no doubt accompanied the thought "Am I crazy?". Hanna had been through a lot, but despite what she thought…she was strong. Caleb had no doubt Hanna was in her right mind, but the girls…they might not be so sure. He just hoped none of them upset her, and he was thinking of Alison in particular. She hadn't been the best friend recently, but when she'd walked through the door, she'd hugged Hanna tightly and apologised for her behaviour…for her comments, and told Hanna she understood why she couldn't come with Spencer the other night, appreciated Hanna's determination to help her, so Caleb had to give her credit for that because he'd figured she just wouldn't bother. Maybe people could change.

Aria had been the last to arrive, and once she was there, all eyes where on Hanna. Caleb had quickly filled Mona in while they waited and she was as on edge as he was. They both knew it was going to hurt Hanna to have her friends not believe her. To doubt her. Mona had her bitch face on and was ready to roll if anyone said anything negative.

"Hanna, we're all here. What's the emergency" Spencer asked, as Hanna paced back and forth trying to work out how to word it.

"Hanna blurt, coming in 5…4….3….2….1" Mona counted down quietly, recognising the look on Hanna's face.

"I had a nightmare that Caleb was run over by a car, but he's okay, and then Grunwald showed up and told me he's not okay"

"I'm right here Han" He said with a wave, but she carried on as if he hadn't spoken. _Why does that keep happening to me?!_

"and then Noel Khan showed up and made Grunwalds head explode" Hanna finished. Mona had called it. Hanna didn't do well in these kinds of situations, she resorted to blurting and then everything came out wrong. Caleb observed the others, Alison was obviously trying to view things from Hanna's point of view and not say anything to upset her after the last few times. Emily and Spencer looked like they where trying to puzzle through her words. None of the three looked inclined to believe her emergency and he could see the doubt in their eyes. Aria however, leapt to Hanna's defence.

"To be fair that does sound like an emergency" she said in to the silence.

"Okay. Can you go over that again…more slowly and….what exactly are you saying?" Spencer asked.

"That Noel Khan is AD" Hanna said with frustration. "You guys I told you last night, he stole Mary Drakes file, he hurt Yvonne, he called Doctor Cochran-"

"Wait…we weren't even together last night" Aria butted in. Caleb could see the looks the girls where exchanging and he didn't like them. If any of them even insinuated she was crazy or…or..whatever other way they wanted to phrase it…he was going to lose his calm. There was nothing wrong with Hanna. She just….she blurted when she was nervous and things…didn't come out right.

"No, we where in my dream, catch up" Mona who clearly had taken note of the others looks, exchanged a glance with Caleb, ready to back Hanna up. "You guys he burned us out of the storm cellar and he wrote on that window. He probably killed Sara, and we know he's bad because way back when he pushed that sorority girl down the stairs!"

"Hanna…what about Sara telling me 'we're looking for the same thing you are'? I mean..she and Jenna where working with Noel"

"To find Charlotte's killer" Hanna responded promptly. "And that still leaves room for Noel Khan to be AD"

"What about the storm cellar?" Spencer chimed in.

"He's the only one that would write, 'I see you'"

"…maybe" Spencer said with a shrug, failing to keep the disbelief out of her voice, if she was even trying.

"No! You guys-"

"What about you Caleb, how are you doing cracking the code" Caleb sighed.

"Uuuh….he's not the only one working on that. Thank you" Mona snarked. Caleb opened his mouth to finally answer but Hanna cut across him.

"Not good." Caleb threw his hands in the air. "But what does that matter anyways because you guys are never going to realise that Noel is the one behind everything!" Hanna was getting more and more worked up and Caleb wasn't sure whether to step in, or let her handle it on her own.

"Never say never" Emily said.

"Oh thanks Pam" Hanna shot back and Caleb and Mona both had to hide snorts of laughter.

"Hey!" Emily cried.

"What else is there to look in to?! Nothing. We're at a dead end" Hanna had a point.

"No. Not exactly. Aria and I have a doctors appointment to go to" Spencer said. Caleb glared at her and she shot him a 'what?' look. Hanna looked around at all of her friends. None of whom believed her. None of whom listened to her. It was like her nightmare all over again. What she had to say didn't matter. What she thought...was wrong. She didn't miss the looks they'd all exchanged either. Clearly they thought after the barn and then the Rollins thing….they thought she'd cracked. Thought she was crazy. It was obvious. But she wasn't. Or maybe…maybe she was, she'd had her own doubts earlier but that didn't change the fact that she was right and if anyone else had brought this to them…they'd have jumped all over it. But her friends didn't believe her. Hanna shook her head, and turned and walked in to the bedroom.

"What?" Spencer asked Caleb as he continued to level her with a look.

"Are you done making Hanna feel like the crazy person shouting at the sky?" Mona asked, icily.

"We didn't-"

"No. Your looks said it all and Hanna isn't blind. She's just asking you to listen to her, but you won't. It's like she doesn't even matter. Why is that? Do you really think Hanna's so weak that everything that's happened has broken her? She might not be as super smart as you Spencer, but she's not dumb either." Caleb said.

"You won't even admit she has some valid points. You won't even hear her out without shouting her down. Some friends you are" Mona shook her head. Aria, who'd been quiet up to this point spoke up.

"I know Hanna's smart. I know she believes this, but there isn't enough hard evidence. We need that to do anything about Noel. Without it, we won't get anywhere" Aria said. Caleb knew she had a point, but he was too angry at the way they'd treated her. He just shook his head and followed after Hanna, leaving them to let themselves out.

"Caleb!" Spencer called after him. He ignored her.

"Don't worry. I'm here to man the decode programmes, you're precious documents aren't being neglected" Mona sniped at Spencer and he entered the bedroom to the dulcet tones of the two of them having a face off. Hanna was sitting on the bed, facing away from the door.

"Han?" he asked as he approached her. She turned to face him and he could see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Why don't they believe me? I'm supposed to be their friend..I just…I just want to keep them safe but they don't believe me…what I have to say it...it doesn't matter to them" Caleb sat next to her, pulling her in to him.

"It does matter Han. They just…." Caleb wasn't sure what to say, "they just need solid evidence. To make sure Noel can't slip out of anything"

"They looked at me like…like I was…I was…crazy. I'm…I….I'm not…am I?" she asked herself. Caleb's heart broke. "The barn…and then….then hitting Rollins and…and….and when I thought he was alive…they…they didn't think so…I got so, so…worked up and…now with Noel…" Caleb interrupted her.

"No Hanna. You're not crazy. I know you. You are not crazy" He made her look at him. "We'll prove it to them okay, prove it's Noel. We'll find the evidence they need. I promise" Hanna nodded and snuggled in to his chest, swiping at her cheeks occasionally and Caleb rubbed her back. He was furious. Hanna…she'd been doing so well, had become so…so animated at the prospect of figuring out who AD was, she was so convinced by the evidence she'd gathered and she'd so badly wanted her friends to believe her, wanted them to give her and her theory a chance but they hadn't. They'd treated her like the family's crazy drunk uncle who constantly spouted out nonsense. He looked down at Hanna. Whether she was right or not about Noel…Caleb would find out.


	28. Chapter Twenty-Eight

Once Hanna had finally stopped crying and calmed down, she and Caleb had emerged in to the main room to see Mona laying out snacks in little bowls all over the coffee table, a stack of DVD's perched next to the TV.

"What's all this?" Hanna asked. Mona turned to her and smiled.

"Well, I think it's time for a Girls Night In" Mona announced. "You can be a girl for the evening" Mona shot at Caleb, knowing she wouldn't be able to get rid of him. "Harder now, with your shorter hair, but I'm sure you'll manage" she said dismissively. Caleb glared at her but it lacked any real heat. Mona had seen how upset Hanna was that the others hadn't believed her, he'd heard her and Spencer going at it before the other girls had left, he wondered if Mona had heard what Hanna said, he shot an enquiring look at Mona and she must have expected the question because she just nodded without an explanation. So she had heard. She'd done all of this…to cheer Hanna up. _Well at least Hanna has one good friend._ Caleb thought to himself. He and Hanna settled down on the couch, Hanna wrapped in Caleb's arms and leaning against him, with Mona on Hanna's other side.

"But…what about the codes?" Hanna asked quietly. Mona shook her head.

"The programme will let me know if it finds anything, I need a break anyway" Mona responded, taking charge of the remote and starting up the first movie. Caleb eyed the DVD stack. _Pink….they're all pink…or have pink on them somewhere…._ he sighed. _Anything for Hanna._ He thought as he resigned himself to an evening of chick flicks. Maybe he'd even manage to stay awake. They where on the second movie when there was a knock at the door. They all looked at each other, none of them expecting a visitor.

"I'll get it" Mona said, noting Hanna's position of comfort with Caleb. She came back a few minutes later with Aria in tow.

"Hey Han" Aria said with a little wave.

"What are you doing here? I thought you where with Spencer talking to some doctor?" Hanna asked curiously.

"Oh. Yeah. We found him…I'll let Spencer fill you in on that later" Aria shrugged. She gestured to Mona, "I heard there was a girls night…and…I could really use one right now" Aria said, eyes shining. Hanna patted the space next to her, on the other side of Caleb after Mona nodded at her to let her know she didn't mind having her seat stolen, she must have texted the girls with an invite...and only Aria had been available evidently. Or wanted to come.

Aria shucked her jacket and dumped it with her bag on a chair, before heading over to sit next to Hanna, putting her head on her shoulder, and linking her arm with Hanna's.

"Is it Ezra?" Hanna asked quietly. Aria nodded.

"I…Nicole might be alive and…and…I should have told him about the call but I didn't want to give him false hope and then…I didn't know how to make it up to him so I..I cashed in our tickets to Italy and….I bought one for Ezra so he could…so he could go" Aria got out, wiping her eyes. Hanna hugged her friend as best she could from her position.

"He'll come back Aria, he loves you, and if you love someone…they always come back." Hanna was acutely aware of Caleb's eyes on her as she spoke, he'd had to loosen his hold on her so she could comfort Aria but he tightened it as she spoke.

"I hope so" Aria said quietly. "Listen…Han….I'm sorry about earlier. Noel looks….really shady…I mean..there's so much that points to him but we don't have anything concrete and if we want to be taken seriously by the police, we need something concrete, so far it's all…circumstantial. It's not that I don't believe you Han, I just…I want to make sure he can't wriggle out of anything, Spencer and the others…" Aria winced as she remembered, "They just handled it wrong." Aria said quietly. Hanna nodded.

"It's my fault, I started babbling" Hanna sighed. "I know you need evidence..I just…Grunwald…when she was there and Noel was there…I kept seeing flashbacks and….what if Noel was the one who was in the Barn with me, not Rollins? If he…if he did that to me I-"

"If he did, then he's not going to get away with it" Aria said firmly. "And before you start to think it….Rollins…it was an accident. We all know it Hanna. You didn't mean to, you tried to stop but…it was too late. He ran out too late." Aria said rubbing Hanna's arm. Hanna nodded. Caleb had already been over this with her, but it meant a lot that her friend had said it too. "Also…we've been friends for how many years?! Everyone should be able to decode your babbles Hanna" Aria said with a light laugh and Hanna smiled.

"So….shall we get back to…uhh….uuh.." Caleb struggled to recall the name of the movie he hadn't been paying any attention too. Mona sighed and hit play.

"You could at least try to make it less obvious you've been napping" Mona snarked.

"Hey, I don't do chick flicks" he shot back.

"No-ones making you stay" Mona quipped.

Hanna and Aria laughed at Caleb and Mona's bickering, before the group settled down to watch the movie. The calm didn't last long, but then..it never did these days.

* * *

"Do you think Noel wrote it?" asked Emily, as she peered at the paper. Spencer, Emily and Alison had shown up an hour or two after Aria and interrupted their movie night with news. News that Hanna wasn't at all pleased to hear, Caleb, Mona and Aria where crowded around Hanna, peering at the paper.

Alison shrugged. "I don't know what to think anymore" she replied to the question.

"Well whoever AD is, they're still one step ahead of us" Spencer said. Hanna sighed, looking up at the ceiling. _Whoever AD is….they still don't see that it's Noel._ Aria squeezed Hanna's arm in support.

"Not necessarily, you got to the doctors first" Emily said to Spencer.

"Yeah, and I'll let you know how helpful that was after I look in to every county childcare employee of the 90's" Spencer replied, walking over to the couch.

"Well maybe it's time we go to the police and say it's Noel" Emily suggested, Aria agreeing with her. Hanna picked up the sheet of paper. "Toby hasn't left yet and that Detective Fury seems reasonable"

"What happens if we're wrong?" Spencer asked. Hanna could hear the conversation…the debate in the background like a TV turned down low. Still debating. Spencer was the problem. Aria, Mona and Caleb where fighting her corner. Fighting for her theory. In between movies, Hanna had talked everything over with Aria. Explaining her reasoning, explaining her dream, explaining what had happened with Grunwald. Aria had listened. She hadn't looked at her like she was crazy, she'd listened, asked questions…and then she'd agreed with Hanna, not that she hadn't before, apparently. She just knew Spencer was going to need evidence. Emily was even on side now, despite the fact that Alison wasn't. Spencer and Alison where out numbered, but it was still Spencer calling the shots.

"AD fries us..that's what happens" Alison said. She could hear Caleb and Mona joining Aria and Emily to argue the point.

Hanna stared down at the paper in her hands. The words glaring up at her.

**_I warned you bitches. Do you really want to end up dead?_ **

It was obvious who it was from. Hanna was the only one who could see that..no. She wasn't the only one. Not anymore. Caleb and Mona had been on her side from the start, Aria too. Emily had even jumped ship to Hanna's 'side' if there where even sides. Spencer and Alison where the problem. Hanna got it. They needed solid evidence to make sure that Noel went down. To make sure he couldn't get out of it and come after them. She understood. But the others where investigating all over the place, they weren't trying to dig in to Noel at all. Hanna looked at the paper one more time.

**_Do you really want to end up dead?_ **

She swallowed and looked away. The word 'dead' echoing through her head, bringing a memory with it.

 _Electricity powering up. Darkness all around her, not sure where the next attack was coming from._ She gritted her teeth, but the memory wouldn't be ignored. Wouldn't be pushed to the side.

_Water seeping across the floor, hitting her feet. A sudden jet of it hitting her, freezing cold and knocking the breath from her lungs. Not knowing what was going to happen next. Terror. Electricity humming through the air. Contact. Pain. "No no no, please stop…please stop! Stop…please" unending pain. Attack after attack, never knowing where the next was going to come from, unable to block…unable to protect herself. Pain lancing through her._

A darker memory started to shove it's way forward. _Being pressed to the ground…held down…unable to get up. Hearing the hum of electricity coming closer…and closer….the prod being pressed to her skin..but instead of being pulled away again…it was held there. Held there, burning, excruciating pain. Screaming endlessly for it to stop._

Hanna could still hear herself screaming when she shook the memory off and returned back to the apartment. She turned and left the apartment. She didn't hesitate. Didn't balk at the thought of the darkness outside that door, she just walked. Her friends where worried about ending up dead. Ending up hurt because they'd wrongly accused Noel, or didn't have enough evidence to keep Noel from getting out of it, so he could come after them. It wasn't that they didn't believe her. It was that they where scared Noel would get off and he'd come for them. They where scared of being hurt. But Hanna….whether it was Noel or not…she'd been hurt. She'd been tortured. She'd actually wanted to die to make it all stop. She'd been through the worst pain she'd ever experienced and she was still standing. To protect Caleb…to protect her friends…she wasn't afraid of going through it again. They needed evidence? She'd get evidence. She'd get so much evidence they wouldn't know what to do with it.

As Hanna walked, she realised something. She wasn't afraid anymore. She wasn't afraid to die. She'd been to hell and back and sometimes…it felt like she'd never left. If they didn't find out who AD was…get rid of AD..then their lives would always be lived watching their backs, being scared of every single text alert. In Hanna's case, she might never be able to live a normal life. Sure she'd been doing better but she would never not be scared of the dark. Never not be scared to be out alone. It needed to stop. Hanna was going to take back control, she'd keep everyone safe, Caleb, Mona, Aria, Emily, Spencer, Alison. She'd keep them all safe. Grunwald had said Caleb was in danger, and it had to be Noel. Noel is going to hurt Caleb. Her dream showed her that. Grunwald had also said there was a darkness around Hanna. It was true. Old Hanna was shiny and colourful, new Hanna felt washed out. Felt like all the colour had been leached out of her. She felt dark. Because sometimes…what she didn't admit to anyone…was that she wished she'd died in that barn, because living with the consequences of it…it was really hard. Surviving was hard. Even with Caleb and Mona helping her. It was hard. Sometimes she just wanted it all to stop. She'd been coming to the realisation, that she wasn't afraid to die. Not after staring death in the face in that barn. Not after wanting to die, so, so badly. Wanting it more than she'd wanted anything. A part of her had already died in that barn.

She wasn't afraid. She'd already been through the worst torture…the worst pain, she wasn't afraid of it like the others where. Nothing else could hurt as much as that did. Except for Noel hurting Caleb…hurting her friends. That was the only thing he could do that scared her…that would destroy her. She wasn't afraid of death and pain like her friends where…she'd already been there. If she had to…she'd go there again. To protect them. She was broken. The barn had broken her and try as she might, she couldn't quite put herself back together. If she could help her friends…keep them and Caleb safe…then maybe this was what she was meant to do. Maybe this was the only way she could help…could contribute. She hadn't been able to do anything else but this…she could do this. Even if it meant more pain….even if it meant death. She'd do this. Because it was all she could do. It wasn't like she wouldn't know what to expect this time. Why break her friends when she was already broken, it wasn't like Noel could break her anymore.

The same time Hanna came to her realisations…she'd been formulating a plan. She was going to go full Mona. She was going to watch Noel, she was going to find out what he was up to, she was going to wait for him to slip up and she'd be there when he did. She'd get the evidence they needed. As she reached the doors to the street she pulled out her phone and dialled.

"The deals on" she said, when they answered. "I get you the money. You give me the keys."

"When do you want to do this?"

"Tomorrow. And then you forget you ever heard from me. My name. The location. This number. All of it. Do you understand?" she asked, trying to sound firm. Trying to sound….like Mona. Silence crackled down the line.

"Do you understand?" She channelled Mona as best she could.

"Yeah, I understand"

"Good. The less you know about this, the better" she said, before hanging up.

"Hanna, what are you doing out here?" Caleb called as he finally caught up to her, he'd left Mona and Aria holding down the fort, and he'd taken the stairs…not realising Hanna had braved the elevator to get outside as fast as she could before anyone caught up to her. She'd known Caleb at least would come after her. She turned to face him.

"Nothing..I…I just needed some air they-"

"I know. But we'll get whatever they need Hanna. Spencer's being stubborn but …we'll figure it out" Caleb said reassuringly and Hanna let him pull her in to a hug. She hugged him tightly. Tomorrow…tomorrow she would leave and put her plan in to action. She might not see Caleb ever again after tonight…but at least he'd be safe. This could be her last night with him…with Mona…

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking down at her.

"Fine…I…I just…" Caleb nodded understandingly.

"Let's go back inside" He said, tugging her gently towards the lights of the apartment building. When they got back upstairs, Aria and Mona where waiting for them. The others having left, Hanna and Caleb must have missed them, taking the stairs while the others took the elevator. Hanna had strode in to the elevator to go down without thinking about it, but she couldn't do it a second time. She knew she'd have to steel herself. Push her fears to the side, because tomorrow…she'd be going it alone. She couldn't be scared, couldn't be riddled with fear. She had to do this to protect her friends because she was the only one who could. The only one who'd been tortured and wasn't afraid of pain…wasn't afraid of anything Noel would throw at them. She'd be strong. She'd…she'd manage her fear. _That's why I'm leaving in the morning instead of…well….now. I'll just have to manage as best as I can._ Hanna settled on the couch in between Caleb and Mona, with Aria to the side, and tried to focus on the movie. But internally? She was planning everything. Psyching herself up. _I can do this. For Caleb…for the others…I can do this. What am I so afraid of? I've already experienced pain. There's nothing left for me to fear._

* * *

Morning dawned bright and harsh for Hanna. She left Caleb sleeping and quietly got ready. She'd spent the night clutching Caleb like a human teddy bear, wanting to make the most of him being there, because she might never see him again. Once she was dressed, in an outfit that concealed her burns, while managing to be completely Hanna Marin. Stylish. Something she'd wear to New York. She quickly packed a bag and then tip toed out in to the main space. No sign of Aria and Mona, they must have gone out to grab breakfast because once again...Hanna had nothing in the apartment. She headed towards the door, hesitating with her hand on the door handle. It was a strange thing, to be afraid and yet…not afraid. She was afraid of the dark…afraid of being trapped….afraid of her torturer. Rollins was dead, but if it was Noel…she was the one setting the trap..not him. He'd be the one trapped. He'd be the one at a disadvantage. Not her. She would be fine. _I can do this. For Caleb. To keep him safe._ As she went to open the door a voice sounded from behind her.

"Going somewhere?" She jumped and spun to face Caleb, who was standing there looking sleep rumpled but…he was dressed. And he had a bag. She frowned in confusion.

"I'm going to New York. I have to do some leg work for the design business Lucas and I are building. I'm going to be..off the grid for a couple days" she stated the rehearsed line. Caleb raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You and I both know that while you're getting better at leaving the apartment, there's no way in hell you'd fly to New York by yourself. Want to try again?" he folded his arms.

"I uh….I'll be fine. I'm just…Lucas needs.."

"You'd sound more convincing without the stuttering" Caleb chuckled. "So…where are we going?"

"We're not going anywhere, I told you-"

"And I know when you're lying Han, which is probably why you decided to try to sneak out without saying goodbye"

"I…I…I….how did you….pack a bag that fast?" she asked.

"I always have a bag ready to go. Answer the question" Caleb said stubbornly.

"I'm…I'm going to get the evidence we need. On Noel." She finally said. "I….everyone's so afraid of AD coming for them but…after the barn…I realised…I'm, I'm scared of a lot of things, the dark, being trapped, even water a little bit, but…I'm not scared of pain or…or of dying. And besides…this is on my terms, Noel…Noel won't be trapping me, I'll be trapping him"

"Hanna….you're not risking yourself alone. You're too important to…to me. You might not be afraid of any of that, but I'm terrified I'll lose you….that you'll get hurt again because I wasn't there." Caleb said, reaching out to touch her face. "So we do this together."

"Caleb no, I'm….I want to protect you"

"I know, and I appreciate that Han but…I didn't protect you last time. I left you and look what happened. I'm not leaving you again. Where you go, I go. So…where are we going" he asked again. Hanna swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I have to…I have to pick up some keys"

"We have to, you mean. Let's go" Caleb said opening the door. "We'll call Mona once we're on the road, get her to cover for us with the others" He said, taking Hanna by the hand. She nodded.

"Let's go" she said, and the two of them walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind them. Hanna wanted to keep Caleb safe. Keep him as far away from this as possible but she should have known better…should have known he wouldn't let her go alone, wouldn't let her out of his sight. Much as she wanted to keep him safe…she couldn't deny that she felt comforted that he was going with her…that she wouldn't have to do this alone. That he would be there to help her…to keep her safe.


	29. Chapter Twenty-Nine

It was dark by the time Hanna and Caleb finally arrived at the place that would be home for the next couple days, seedy and uninviting as it was. They piled in through the door, dumping their things on the floor and Hanna immediately started to carefully and methodically tape up the windows with newspaper, making sure no-one could see in. It was like she was in some kind of movie. She felt tense, on edge, she wasn't sure if it was being away from familiar surroundings, or what she was planning on doing. She couldn't believe she was actually doing this. She was going to get the evidence on Noel…she was out of the apartment.

Everything in her wanted to flee back to the safety of the apartment, but she was determined to stick to her new path. This was something she needed to do to help everyone...to keep Caleb safe. Caleb's presence helped hugely, the sense of safety he gave her, calming her when she felt most like freaking out, just by being there. Once she'd taped the windows thorougly, she turned to the bed, where Caleb was lounging with his laptop, tapping away at something, probably something to do with the code he and Mona still had yet to crack.

She took the opportunity to study him, study the look of concentration that wrinkled his brow, the way he was stretched out comfortably on the bed, strong arms and firm abs…she found herself staring a bit too long and realised she was being a total creeper. Hanna hastily looked away, gaze tracking to their bags at the foot of the bed. She should have known he'd be on to her. That she wouldn't be able to sneak away from him. He'd probably been awake the moment she'd left the bed. She should have known that he'd insist on coming, it was so incredibly stupid of her to think she could get away without him. She should have made an excuse to get him to stay somewhere else, or left before she'd made the call. But she'd been too scared to go off too far on her own. Sure she was making progress but not enough to shake Caleb.

In truth, if he wasn't there, she wasn't sure how well she'd manage. If she'd have been able to make it out here...she'd probably be freaking out being here all by herself, especially once it got dark. The dark would always be something she struggled with, like some kind of scared little kid who needed a night light to sleep. She felt pathetic for that..for her reliance on Caleb but then everyone has to lean on someone right? She was sure she'd heard that somewhere, but even so, it did little to make her feel better. She wanted to be the old her, the near fearless Hanna. Not this scared mess. Caleb didn't care whether she was the old Hanna or the new. He...he loved her anyway. No matter what. She returned her gaze to him.

Even after everything that happened between the two of them…he really did still love her. The thought warmed her as much as it sent a chill of fear through her. She wanted to keep him safe, but she'd caved easily enough at him coming along because she'd been scared. She'd needed him with her. She always needed him with her. She wasn't really sticking to her whole 'keep Caleb away and safe' plan. No matter how much she tried to keep Caleb away…she couldn't follow it through and she hated herself for it because she knew if he got hurt it would be her fault.

"You know I can feel you staring at me right?" his voice floated over from the bed and she sighed as she gave in and did what she'd been wanting to do for the past ten minutes. She wandered over to the bed, crawled across it and snuggled her head on to Caleb's chest, closing her eyes and gripping him tightly. She felt him twist slightly, and heard the sound of the laptop being put on to a surface, then she felt his hand stroke her hair for a moment or two, his other arm coming around her waist, before she drifted in to a dreamless sleep.

* * *

The morning dawned harsh and bright, and Hanna was filled with nerves. Today was their first day of surveillance, or it would be after Hanna dealt with something. She needed supplies, which meant a trip to the store, a trip that couldn't be explained away and she'd had to tell Caleb her plan, or the part of the plan she'd been hoping to keep from him for as long as possible. _I should have thought about this harder, then I could have packed it all myself._

"Seriously? You're channeling Mona right now, and frankly…I'm terrified." Caleb stated, raising the hammer to eye level with a raised eyebrow. Hanna hadn't been able to find everything she needed in the apartment, but she'd managed to find a suitable weapon, although Lord knew what Lucas needed a hammer for, she could have sworn he had people for that these days.

"We need evidence okay. Following him around won't be enough, sure we might find something but we need a confession. There's only one way to get that. We make him talk. To do that we need to be prepared for anything."

"Aw. I love it when you go all Girl Scout preparedness on me, " he leaned in and kissed her forehead. "The hammer wielding, Mona-esque part is freaking me out though" he whispered playfully and Hanna frowned. Caleb sighed.

"Fine, we'll go get the stuff. But I'm telling you, this is the kind of thing they flag. Screams murder" he murmured, his eyes taking on a far off look as he was briefly lost in a memory. And that was it.

He'd agreed surprisingly easily, and Hanna figured it was because he didn't want to argue with her. Maybe he even knew she was right. Or more likely it was because he'd do anything for her and didn't want to waste time. Whatever. Either way, they'd gone to the store and they'd gotten everything they could think of. Rope, tape, anything they might need to restrain someone. There was one more thing they'd need but Hanna couldn't do anything about it yet. Caleb had some surprising contacts and he'd set up a meeting but it wasn't until later that afternoon. She had to be patient.

The girls had tried to call her a couple times, she wasn't sure why. Mona had said she'd cover for them and make up some excuse, so she ignored the calls and focused on what she and Caleb where about to do. She didn't have time to play twenty questions with her friends and if she got Spencer on the phone...she'd be on to her in seconds. Hanna paced the length of the room, they'd returned there after their early morning trip to the store and Caleb was unpacking everything and setting up the camera. She was twitchy, how could she not be. So many things could go wrong. Noel was freaking AD, there was a high chance this wouldn't end well, and she'd dragged Caleb right in to it. She was warring with herself, on the one hand she needed him with her…on the other…she'd dragged him in to danger and he could end up hurt because of her…again. The thing she never wanted to happen. She couldn't help mentally berating herself for her moment of weakness that had brought him with her.

As she paced, her thoughts whirled. Hanna needed a backup plan. If anything happened to her or Caleb or both of them..Noel couldn't be allowed to get away with it. He had to pay for what he'd done. To her. To all of them. She eyed the camera resting on the table and an idea started to form. But she couldn't implement it with Caleb there so she had to bide her time.

Her opportunity came not too long after. "Han, are you gonna be okay if I go and grab us some breakfast? Can't stalk and kidnap people on an empty stomach" he grinned and she forced a smile and pushed down the stab of fear the thought of being alone sent through her. She needed him out of the room. She had to put on her big girl panties right now.

"Sure, sounds good. I'll be fine" She said, managing to keep her voice steady. He looked at her suspiciously for a moment or two before grabbing the keys to the rental car, and hurrying out the door. She figured he was going to break some kind of record, trying to get there, get the food and get back so she wouldn't be alone for long. No matter what she said, he knew she was afraid of being left alone. He probably knew she was up to something. But her growling stomach had most likely decided him. He would make sure he wasn't long. She didn't have much time.

Hanna hastily set the camera up, positioning it to make sure it was perfect before she hit record, and rushed around to take her seat in front of the lens. She swallowed. She needed to do this. He couldn't get away with it. Not anymore. His parents wouldn't be able to buy his way out of this.

"My name is Hanna Marin, and I'm here with Caleb Rivers. If you find this video before we finish what we need to do, something went terribly wrong." She paused, taking a shaky breath. "Please give this to the police." After swallowing hard at the thought of something happening to Caleb..because of her, she proceeded to lay out everything for the camera. What happened to her in the barn, everything AD had done so far, and her suspicions about Noel, leaving out what happened with Archer Dunhill. He wasn't the goal here. She spoke carefully, forcing calm as she laid out the evidence against him, and her goal to find some solid proof that he was the one behind everything.

Once she'd finished she walked back to the camera and shut it off, feeling like a weight had been lifted, at least momentarily. Moments later, Caleb returned, food in hand and Hanna swallowed down guilt that she was keeping this from him. She knew he'd understand, but while he'd agreed to her plan, she knew he was worried for her safety, and shoving her insurance in case anything happened to her, in to his face wasn't going to make him feel any better. It'd make him worry more and it might even change his mind, if he wanted to, he could drag her ass back home and she couldn't let that happen. So she smiled at him, and ate the food he'd brought, with more enthusiasm than she'd shown in days. She had the feeling she was freaking him out a little with her sudden change and she noted to herself to stop overdoing it, to act...the new normal. Once they'd finished eating she sat back, and looked at Caleb. He smiled at her and she returned it. Everything was going to be fine…she wasn't alone. She had Caleb to help her. She could do this. "Let's go find Noel" she said grimly.

* * *

Caleb was bored. He and Hanna had been following Noel for hours after he'd emerged from his abode with a trash bag, and his ass hurt from sitting in the uncomfortable rental car. So far, he was one of the most boring people to follow that Caleb had come across, and he'd tailed a few people in his time, sure he had a suspicious trash bag with him, but all he appeared to be doing was taking it for a romantic drive round the damn place. He let out a yawn and turned his head to look at Hanna.

She was freaking him out with her…Mona-ness. Not to mention the way she'd been acting that morning, normally he'd be glad she was eating but he knew she had next to no appetite these days which meant she was forcing herself to eat to show him she was fine. He knew she wasn't fine. He also knew that while she hadn't wanted to be left alone in the room earlier...she'd also been eager to get him out of there. He knew something was up, he knew when she was lying, but he didn't want to press her on it. He felt like Hanna was fragile right now, and any kind of pressure might make her break. So he'd decided he was just going to roll with whatever Hanna threw at him, because arguing would only stress her out, and waste their time, and possibly end with him or her storming off and he needed to stick close to her.

He didn't like the thought of her going off after Noel alone and that would happen if he started to press her about things. This plan was crazy enough and anything could go wrong. He needed to be there. She needed him if she wanted to pull this off. Noel was a big guy and he might have already hurt Hanna. Caleb would be there to make sure he didn't do it again. As he felt the car coming to a slow stop, he took his eyes off Hanna and turned to look out the windscreen. Noel's car had come to a stop and the asshole himself was getting out, trash bag in hand. He and Hanna watched as he looked around, _because that doesn't scream shady,_ and dumped the bag in a dumpster outside of a random building. He could feel Hanna's eyes boring in to the side of his head and he sighed.

"Okay. Point taken, but for the record, I never said he wasn't suspicious! I just said, maybe his trashcan was full, it happens" Caleb defended. To be fair to him, the bag didn't look all that full, and he didn't have x-ray vision, it could have been anything. Trash that he couldn't fit in an overflowing trashcan, something he didn't want stinking the place out, or maybe even someone's belongings that he needed to return to them. _He may be a creep, but that doesn't seem to do him any harm when it comes to his game._ Caleb thought. He'd been trying not to get Hanna's hopes up, it was one trash bag, there could be any reason for Noel to be driving around with it.

They watched as Noel strode nonchalantly back to his car and then drove off. After waiting a few minutes to make sure he was out of sight, he and Hanna thew open their doors, and casually walked across the street. Caleb opened the dumpster lid and pulled the bag out, noting that it felt kind of light, before closing the lid and placing it on top. Caleb eyed the bag as Hanna reached for it.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Caleb said. Rooting through Noels trash was going to make this real and they could find anything in there. Or not find anything.

"There has to be something in here Caleb. Why else would he drive all this way just to dump it?! It doesn't make any sense otherwise" Hanna argued.

"Well he could-" he stopped when she gave him the look and held his hands up defensively. He stepped back and watched as Hanna practically ripped open the top of the bag in her haste to search it, all he could see was trash. Used paper plates, cups…he wrinkled his nose. Hanna dived right in and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"What? I can do my own dirty work" Hanna said defensively. He laughed.

"Well, rather you than me, have at it Nancy Drew." he said as he watched her root around in the bag. He could see disappointment begin to etch itself on her face, and he readied himself to deliver a dose of hope, but then she suddenly pulled her arm back. He looked down at her hand to see…a phone. She'd found a phone in his trash. _Okay. Nothing too suspect. I mean maybe the guy got a new phone._ The screen was smashed but when Hanna fiddled with it…a screensaver could be seen vaguely through the damage as it chimed. Sara Harvey. The photo was of Sara Harvey. He and Hanna looked at each other.

"I love being right" Hanna smirked at him and Caleb had to laugh at her.

"Don't go getting a big head, alright Sherlock?" he quipped and she smiled at him briefly before turning serious.

"This was Sara's phone…which means…"

"Noel might have killed her" Caleb said, trying to be the voice of reason. Just because he had the phone didn't mean he was the one to do the deed, but it didn't look good for the guy.

"No. He did. He's capable of anything Caleb, if it was him…at the barn…" she shuddered and Caleb wrapped a comforting arm around her.

"I know Han. C'mon, let's get back in the car" he threw the trash bag back in the dumpster and they made their way back to the car. Once they where settled back inside it Caleb took possession of the phone and studied it, but there wasn't much he could do with it when the screen was so badly smashed. The more he stared at the shattered screen the more he had to admit that Hanna was right…Noel had to have killed Sarah. Why else would he be disposing of her phone…a phone that was smashed as if she'd been involved in a struggle. Like he'd already observed. Noel was a big guy and it wasn't like a blind girl could do it. Caleb felt a pit open up in his stomach. _This just got way more dangerous than I thought it would be._


	30. Chapter Thirty

Hanna and Caleb had made their way back to their room to plan out what to do next. Noel had tossed Sara's phone and he was looking guiltier by the minute, if that was even possible with the amount of evidence that was already stacked up against him. But this could be the much needed proof that Spencer needed before she'd agree to do anything. This was why she was here. In a way, everything was going to plan.

Hanna and Caleb both knew what the next logical thing to do was. Talk to Noel. The girls kept trying to get hold of Hanna, and they both knew they didn't have much time to do whatever it was they needed to do. There was only so long that Mona could cover for the both of them. Once Mona couldn't keep it up any longer, and the girls realised that both she and Caleb where AWOL, they'd know that they where up to something and they'd come charging in and stop her from doing what needed to be done.

Caleb would try and hack the phone, destroyed as it was, but they didn't have time to wait on it, if it even had anything incriminating on it. Because there was a chance that it didn't, she hated herself for doubting what she knew, but she couldn't help it after that showdown with the others. A small part of her kept nagging at her thoughts, telling her she could be wrong. She wasn't the genius that Spencer was. Spencer was usually always right. Maybe she was seeing her torturer everywhere. Maybe she couldn't let go and it had been Rollins but she was projecting on to Noel because she just...couldn't deal with things. Maybe this was how she coped. Maybe she was broken irreparably and would keep finding new suspects over and over again. Dragging Caleb along with her every single time. She shook her head. _No. I'm being ridiculous. All the evidence points to Noel. Points to this...as much as I wish it didn't. Because it means I'm going to have to face him. It means I'm going to have to stop saying I'll be brave and actually be brave. It's one think to think it, but another to be it. What if I end up freaking out, having a flashback...and Caleb will have to step in and then...Noel will get away. No. I won't let that happen. I'm doing this for Caleb. For my friends. So they can't be hurt like I've been. I just need to remember that. It'll be enough. It has to be._

Hanna couldn't deny the thought of coming face to face with Noel terrified her, but then who wouldn't feel the same way? He was probably the person who'd locked her in a barn and tortured her over and over and over again. But this needed to be done, and she was the only one who could do it. The only one she would allow to do it. This started with her, it would end with her.

They needed to go to Noel. They needed to talk to him. But she and Caleb both knew that Noel wouldn't just suddenly open up and spill all of his dark deeds to them over a beer, they'd need to do something drastic to get him to talk. They'd need to play the A game, they'd need to become him. _Okay, maybe that's too far. We just need to...to think like him...Sort of_ …what is it that war book said? Hanna tried to remember while Caleb put in some calls to some old connections. Hanna stifled a smile as she remembered how that conversation had gone.

"You know at least one drug dealer, right?" Hanna had said bluntly, turning to him as she'd placed all of their gathered supplies on the table. Ready for their prey. She had taken to think of Noel like that, she had to think of Noel as that, or she wouldn't be able to do this. It kept her calm to a certain extent. Kept the terror at bay. _I'm the one with the power. Noel doesn't know what's coming. I'll be the one in charge. Not him. Not like before. Things are going to go differently this time._ She'd thought.  
"Um…what makes you think I do?" Caleb had asked with a raised eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest. He knew Hanna was trying incredibly hard to push her terror down, he also knew she was most likely using her need to protect him to do it. He'd let her. He'd let her play what ever role she needed to, to get through with it. But he'd still do whatever it took to protect her. Whether she liked it or not. So he indulged her, giving in to the need to be a little bit playful before things got serious. Before things got...dangerous.

"Well, you have connections right? From the phone thing? You where pretty shady and you did business with some really shady people." She'd pointed out matter of factly. "Besides it's not like we need real drugs, we just need….something to knock him out. To keep him...manageable." Hanna had finished. Caleb had looked at her with his eyebrow still raised and shaken his head. _As if that makes it any better._ Hanna had plowed on, ready to defend her decision. "If it was him at the barn Caleb, he's not even stable, we all know that, no-one can deny that. He has to be completely unhinged, or well maybe not unhinged but he's psychopathic or whichever one it is, I can't remember all the psycho babble. The point is, we can't do this without putting him at a disadvantage, and we need to do it this way…it's the only way to unbalance him…." She'd trailed off as Caleb held a hand up.

"I know Han. I agree. I just resent the implication that I'm still buddies with dealers and 'shady people'" he'd said, forming quote marks with his fingers, "let alone people that knew how to get drugs to use to knock out girls." Hanna had started to apologise but Caleb continued, letting a smirk spread across his face "Oh and for the record, since we're using the serial killer supplies…I'm so narking on you to the cops if Noel goes squealing to them like a little baby. I'm telling them it was all you." Caleb said as he'd leaned in towards her. Hanna gasped in mock outrage, playing along to try and dispel some of the tension she'd been feeling.

"I can't believe you would turn on the woman you love. They'd never believe you. I look too harmless...too sweet and innocent" She'd said with a laugh and a hair toss, plus a heavy dose of triumph. Then they'd both frozen as Hanna's words had sunk in. _The woman you love._ For a minute…it had been just like it used to be between them. Laughing, joking…carefree. They where both painfully aware of their feelings for each other….and aware of how much they wanted to protect each other. How that kept them apart a certain amount. And there Hanna was tossing the L word around and forcing the two of them to acknowledge it. Hanna had swallowed and started to stammer a denial but Caleb had looked at her seriously and reached out to touch her face.

"I do love you Han. And I know you love me. You want to keep me safe, so you keep me at a distance, but if we're doing this. If we're really going to go after Noel like this...then we're doing it together." He'd said seriously, his gaze intense.

"Um...we are together..." Hanna had said dumbly, swallowing.

"No Han. You know what I mean. No more distance. Finding that phone...this got dangerous Hanna. More than it was before. I wasn't there for you before, I couldn't help you before...because we weren't us. We weren't together, and I don't want it to be like that this time. I know I said I'd give you time but this scares me Hanna. Please..." he'd said, touching his forehead to hers. She'd closed her eyes.

As much as she wanted to fight him, to keep him at a safe distance so he couldn't be hurt. She needed him. They'd been inseparable since she'd been returned broken and battered. He was the only one she felt safe around. He always had been. He was right, the dream was just a dream. It had to be. She wouldn't let it be a warning.

"Han. I know you think keeping me at a distance will keep me safe. If we're not together, I won't be a target. But you and I both know that I'll always follow you, wherever you go right? I'll always be there for you...with you. So I'll be a target either way. If we're together or not. You have to know that right? If we're going to go this far in to danger...I can't do it without knowing that you're mine. Without you admitting that we're meant to spend the rest of our lives together" Hanna had stared at Caleb. _Meant to spend the rest of our lives together._ He'd said that. He thought...he wanted to...she heaved in a shuddering breath, as Caleb reached up to wipe a tear from her cheek. _When did I start...?_

"I'm sorry Han. God. I didn't mean to make you cry, to push you like this. I'm just...I'm scared and-" Hanna knew he was right, they where meant to spend the rest of their lives together and she was tired of fighting it. She was scared, she was terrified, and she needed Caleb. She would always need Caleb because he was always the one that was there for her, just look at what he'd been doing for her since...since the barn. He'd been...amazing. She also knew that the convenient little fact that she liked to ignore, that he'd just pointed out was also true. He'd have a target on his back either way...so why not just give in. She'd realised that if she was really going to do this...she needed things between her and Caleb to be resolved. She needed to know that he was really serious, as if his actions recently hadn't shown her that. So she'd cut him off by tilting her head up and bringing her lips to his. As they'd kissed, softly, tenderly...it had felt right to Hanna. Like home. Something inside of her clicked in to place and she felt lighter. She was doing this for Caleb...for _this._ So that when this was over, they could have a life together. So they could be together without the fear...without the tension.

"We will." Hanna had whispered as they'd pulled apart.

"huh?" Caleb had said, slightly dazed. He hadn't been expecting Hanna's reaction, he'd just blurted without thinking. He'd said what he felt. They'd been dancing around for days, they'd practically been together anyway it just wasn't...official. And he'd so badly wanted to make it official. Wanted to get some small happiness, get something that was right in this shit storm of pain and terror.

"We will spend the rest of our lives together" Hanna had promised him. Then of course Caleb had ruined the moment entirely.

"Did you just propose to me?" He'd asked, blinking. Hanna had flushed.

"N-n-n-no...I didn't...I just..I...uh..." she'd stammered busying herself with the various items they'd need for their Noel-napping plan.

"I'm just going...to go make that call" Caleb had said as he wandered off in a daze.

 _So...that happened._ Hanna thought to herself. She pictured what would happen at the end of all this, going back to her friends and telling them what had happened. _Hey guys, Caleb and I got all the evidence we need on Noel so now we can go to the cops and reveal that he's behind this whole thing! Oh and Caleb and I totally got back together because it was so romantic plotting to kidnap Noel and hog tie him to get him to confess._ She shook her head.

"It's done. We've just got to go meet the guy, you ready?" Caleb interrupted Hanna's thoughts and she looked up at him, nodding absent mindedly.  
"Sure, let's go." They where headed for the door when Hanna remembered something. "Wait! I need my hat"

"Seriously Hanna, now isn't the time to accessorise" Caleb said with an affectionate eye roll.  
"I know, but this is a drug deal right? I need to look inconspicuous! To blend in!" Caleb sighed as Hanna retrieved an old ball cap she'd dug out from somewhere for the occasion, and settled it on her head. "How do I look?" _Adorable._ He thought.

"Totally not stereotypically suspicious" Caleb said out loud with a shake of the head, holding the door open, "Can we go now?" he said gesturing to the door. "Drug dealers are kinda twitchy and they don't like to be kept waiting" Caleb said gently as Hanna hesitated for a moment. Enough to remind herself she was doing this for those she loved. To remind herself Noel couldn't touch her, Caleb wouldn't let him. It would be fine. She could do this. Then she strode through.

* * *

It didn't take them long to reach the meeting place, and they ducked low in the car, scoping it out. It didn't look at all liked she'd enviosned it would be. She'd pictured an alley, or a seedy motel or something. Instead it was bright, busy and there where kids cycling around on bikes.

Before long, a car pulled in to a bay opposite them and parked. Caleb looked it over, studying every inch. "That's it, just as described. Same numberplate and everything" Hanna nodded and adjusted her hat. Now was the time to put the plan in to action, her plan. Well...to at least prepare the first stage of her plan.  
"Right. I'll….I'll be back in a minute" Hanna said, steeling herself before she launched herself out of the car and hurried over to the other vehicle. She pretended she was playing a role, and it helped to take her mind off of the fact she was about to get cosy with a drug dealer.

Caleb snorted a laugh. She was trying so hard to be inconspicuous, but between the hat and the constant furtive looks, she screamed "HEY LOOK AT ME. I'M SO UP TO SOMETHING", like every shady character in a movie. He watched her approach the vehicle and hesitate at the door. It was at that point that Calebs brain kicked in to gear and he realised he'd been too busy staring at her to get out of the car and you know...go with her. _Idiot. 'I'll always be there for you Hanna. We do things together Hanna' more like 'I'm sorry Hanna, I was too busy noticing how cute you looked trying to act all super spy, to actually be with you._ Things between them had finally clicked in to place and Caleb had allowed it to let him become complacent.

He and Hanna might be back together, but just because that made her happy...made him happy, it didn't that everything that had happened...hadn't happened. Hanna was not fine, no matter how badly she tried to act like it. Caleb cursed under his breath and practically threw himself out of the car. It wasn't like he could yell at her to wait for him. He hurried over to the other vehicle just as Hanna got in. Cursing himself the entire way for dropping the ball like a complete moron. Letting himself fall in to a false sense of security because he and Hanna where back where they belonged. Hanna might think she's indestructible because she's the one in charge of this whole game with Noel now...but Caleb knew she wasn't, and he knew that she knew that she wasn't. Her act didn't work on him and she should know that by now.

Hanna took a deep breath and opened the car door, ducking in and settling in to the passenger seat. For a dealer, the car was pretty...well...nice. It was clean and it didn't smell like….whatever dealers smelled like. Drugs and skeeviness? She mentally shook herself before her brain could descend in to all out panic. She'd been doing well. With something to focus on, a goal, and her constant mantra to herself…she was handling this. She was taking steps to put Noel away. To take him down. To make him pay. He wouldn't be able to hurt anyone ever again after this, and thanks to this guy….she was going to be the one with the advantage. She'd be making him feel scared. Helpless. She would be lying if she said she didn't get a rush at the thought. A small dark part of her relished the idea of Noel being the weak one. Of Noel feeling how she felt. Not that she'd go that far. Hanna took a breath. She knew Caleb was watching, but she still felt uneasy without his close proximity to keep her calm. _It's fine Hanna. After everything you've been through you can handle one little drug dealer. I mean he's super clean...his car isn't screaming 'hey I'm a serial killer' right?_

"I've never sold these to a chick before" the guy noted, as he pulled a baggie out of his pocket, and checked the contents. Remain calm Hanna. Act like…like you do this all the time. _No…no that'd be weird._ Totally not the image you want to project. Just…act like Mona. It's helped me this far. She took another breath and channeled Mona.

"Glad I could be your first" she said, _wow, I do an awesome Mona impression when I want to_. Hanna noted, mentally high fiving herself. She felt like she was in charge for once, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't feel a strange rush of power. She'd been relishing in that feeling so much that she didn't notice Caleb's approach.

She jumped when the back door of the car opened and spun in her seat…..to see Caleb ducking in to the backseat. She couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped her having him near. She looked at him and he sent her a challenging look back. _Go on, shout at me to get back to the car. Tell me you got this. Send me away._ He seemed to say. Hanna just stared at him, trying to project how in control she was of the situation. _I've totally got this. I don't need your help. Just watch._

"What? Why do you get to have all the fun?" Caleb said with a wink, undeterred and certainly not going anywhere, and Hanna smiled back at him finally. Trust Caleb to try and set her at ease by turning this in to a game or something. The dealer, completely forgotten by the two of them, looked between the two with raised eyebrows.

"I don't know what you're in to…" he started to say and Hanna flushed with embarrassment. She opened her mouth to make a snappy comeback but the spirit of Mona had fled her and she just sputtered a bit. _Great Caleb couldn't witness my awesome comeback but he can witness me sputtering like an idiot. Typical. Wait...What does he think Caleb and I need these for?_ _For….to get…to get someone? To….oh my God._ She repressed the groan of horror that itched to be unleashed.

"You don't need to know. Is that the stuff?" Caleb said the picture of calm and collected. _Damn, why does he get to be the badass?_ Hanna huffed as she shot him a look and Caleb shot her a playful smirk. The dealer sighed, shaking his head and held up the baggie.

"A little goes a long way, one of those….should knock 'em out for hours" He said, handing the packet over to Hanna. She took it from him carefully while Caleb handed over the money. Hanna stared down at the baggie. There where two pills in there, if one could knock him out for hours….then two….two could keep him out for a day or it could….

"Good to know" she muttered. She wouldn't go that far. She wouldn't. She just needed to be sure that she could keep him under control…keep him compliant. She didn't want Caleb getting hurt because of her stupid plan. Because he'd followed along with it to make her happy, to keep her _safe_. She wouldn't let him get hurt. She wouldn't. Just because she'd agreed they belonged together, agreed to stop keeping him at a distance, agreed to be with him again..didn't mean she was any less determined to keep him safe. She opened the door, and exited the car without another word, closely followed by Caleb. He rounded the car to meet her at the front and threw his arm around her shoulders.

"Nice work Miss Super Spy" Caleb teased. She flushed as she recalled her embarrassed stuttering, all sense of cool leaking away from her rapidly in that one moment.

"Hey, I was doing really well until you came barging in to _my_ drug deal and threw of my vibe" Hanna said sulkily. Calebs arm around her shoulders was a soothing weight, his body next to hers a comfort. She breathed him in. She could almost pretend that they where back before everything happened, before the barn, before he left, back in simpler times. Not that there had ever really been simpler times...but what passed as it for them. Once everything was over with Noel...they could go back to that.

"Excuse me for not wanting you to be by yourself with a drug dealer, I know you think you can handle it Hanna…." he trailed off at her look. "I know you _can_ handle it Hanna. But you don't have to do this alone, I keep telling you. Not with me here. We'll do this together. Every step of the way. Do I need to remind you of our earlier conversation? You know...the one where we got back together" Caleb leaned in and whispered the words huskily in her ear.

Hanna hugged him tightly and Caleb smiled, wrapping his other arm around her as they reached their car.

"I'll take that as a no" he side triumphantly.

_This feels so...normal...this is how things could be again. We just need to deal with Noel._

"He was actually pretty nice for a dealer" Caleb commented and Hanna groaned.

"That guy totally thinks we drug poor innocent girls to have our way with them" Hanna said, her face flaming.

"Hey, he might of thought we where drugging guys" Caleb winked suggestively and Hanna smacked him in the stomach.

"Caleb" She hissed,

"I'm an equal opportunity lover" Caleb said with a laugh.

"It's not funny!" she practically snarled at him as she hit him again.

"C'mon Han, it is a little, you've got to admit. He looked so...so... _scandalised_ " he said chuckling.

"It's still not funny" Hanna practically growled.

"Aw Han, are you jealous? You know you're the only person for me" he teased right before he was cut off with an oof as Hanna smacked him in the stomach again. With more force.

"This isn't funny Caleb. We've got what we needed and now...now we have to...I have to..." Hanna tried to calm herself down. Caleb was just teasing her to try and ease the tension. To try and make her laugh, to ease the levity of the situation before it all came crashing back down on them once they set foot back in that car and they had to put the next part of the plan in motion. She loved him for it, for trying to do that for her but she just..she couldn't not focus on her fear of what was to come and she knew Caleb was trying very hard not to focus on his fear for her. Caleb sobered up immediately. He'd been stupid to try and pretend they weren't in the middle of a very dangerous situation. To try to pretend things where how they'd used to be. Nothing was okay. In a few hours Hanna would have to sit face to face with Noel. The person who terrified her most in the world right now.

He pulled her to a stop and cupped her face in his hands.

"Hanna. It's going to be fine. I'll be right there with you, you don't have to face him alone. And you know I won't let him lay a finger on you. Not again. We're going to get the information we need, and we're going to take it to the cops. Then he's going to be locked away for a very long time. He won't be able to hurt you or anyone else ever again, okay?" Caleb said, steadily. Hanna nodded, and Caleb peered in to her eyes for a moment longer. He kissed her on the forehead and they resumed walking back to the car.

A moment later Hanna started to laugh, and Caleb turned to look at her.

"What? I thought you said it wasn't funny" He teased.

"The drug dealer...looking scandalised...at us...because...when he...oh my God" she cackled and Caleb started to laugh with her. Just for this one moment, they'd revel in a stupid joke. Just this once. They deserved it. They deserved to laugh. Deserved to enjoy this, because they sure as hell hadn't gotten to do much enjoying recently...or laughing.

"We totally just scandalised a drug dealer, I feel like that's an achievement we should be marginally proud of" he chuckled. Hanna wasn't sure if the laughter she felt bubbling up again was genuine or verging on slightly hysterical but she wanted this. She wanted to laugh with Caleb, to share a joke. So she did. Because there was a high chance everything was going to go to shit in a few hours. Especially when Caleb realised Hanna would be facing Noel alone, because there was no way he'd meet with the both of them. It had to be her. Just her. And Caleb would not be happy.


	31. Chapter Thirty-One

**_Found Sara's phone with your prints on it. You want it back, be at Bowa's Pub. 8pm._ **

Hanna stared down at the message she'd just typed out. Caleb was behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist. A steady pillar of support. _Just press send. Like ripping off a band aid. It'll all be over soon, and soon will be a lot closer once you hit send. You can do this. For Caleb. If you don't send that text, Noel will still be out there. He could still hurt Caleb, your dream might even come true. But send the text….get the evidence. He won't be able to do anything once the cops have him. Just do it._ Hanna took a deep breath and hit send. She waited a moment or two for confirmation it had sent then quickly put her phone face down on the table. She didn't want to look at it, at the sent message staring up at her. If she didn't have to look at it, she could push it to the back of her mind, forget about what she would have to do. Caleb tightened his arms around her, brushing a kiss across the top of her head. She tensed up. She couldn't put it off any longer. They needed to have this conversation, and things between her and Caleb today…they'd felt so…so….familiar. She'd been happy. But what she had to say was going to upset Caleb…no not upset. It was going to make him really, really mad. She took another deep breath and pulled out of his embrace and turned to face him, out of reach.

"What?" Caleb asked, frowning in concern, his arms subconsciously reaching for her. This was more than the text, more than the impending meeting with Noel. He studied Hanna's face, the grim determination, the….fear she was trying to push back. He knew he wasn't going to like what she was going to say. If she was pushing back her fear it would be to keep him calm, to show him she could handle it. Whatever 'it' was. She'd looked similar when she'd quite clearly not wanted him to leave her alone in the room earlier…but had told him she'd be fine anyway. A grim thought started to take shape in his mind and he narrowed his eyes at her.

Hanna picked up the baggie of pills and the hammer, then she placed the baggie carefully on the table. He watched her take another breath.

"You can't come with me to meet Noel. You can't be there. If he see's you he'll bolt. It has to be me. Just me. If it's not then he won't feel like he can come over and gloat and he won't let his guard down. You just…you can't be there. You'll have to stay here. Otherwise this won't work. I need to do this alone." She said in a babbling rush. Then she started to whack the hammer down on the pills. _And there it is._ Caleb thought. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You don't need to hit that hard Hanna, you're supposed to be _gently_ crushing the pills. Not pounding them in to nothing." he stated. She looked up at him, then quickly looked away, grabbing the nondescript packet they'd found to put the crushed pills in. It would be easier to tip the drug in to a drink that way….and less suspicious. Hanna picked up the baggie and gently pulled it open, then held the packet between her fingers, giving it the slightest pressure so the top gaped open. She concentrated on the task way more than she needed to.

"You know I'm right Caleb" She said, as she started to tip the crushed pills in to the packet, concentrating to make sure she got it all out, even the bits getting caught at the top of the bag. She then folded down the top of the packet and placed it with her phone, before fiddling with the rope and tape that they'd laid out by the camera. Caleb just looked at her. She fidgeted.

"Look Caleb, I know you're mad and I want you there, so badly. I'm terrified of facing him, after what he…what he did, or probably did or helped do or whatever. I'm scared. I need you there with me but you can't be there. So I'll have to go by myself and…and….I can do this. I have to. Because then we won't have to live in fear anymore. We'll be in charge again, all the time and-"

"Hanna." Caleb interrupted calmly.

"Yes?" She asked hesitantly, finally turning to look at him. He was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, an exasperated look on his face.

"You're not the only one who can wear a disguise, if that's what you want to call your cap. I might not be able to sit with you and face down Noel…but I can still be there. We scoped the place out. I'll sit in the back, there's a table there that I can sit at. He won't be able to see me, but you will and I'll be able to see you. You won't be alone Hanna. I'll be right there, and if he even breathes wrong, I'll be there faster than you can blink. I won't let him hurt you. You know that." He said. Hanna heaved out a breath and threw her arms around his waist burying her face in his neck. "You don't have to keep pretending that you're fine Hanna. That you can handle it. It's okay to be scared, we've been over this. Now that we're together again…you _have_ to let me help you. It's the rules." Caleb said with a triumphant smile. Hanna hugged him tighter. She had expected him to be more mad, but then trust Caleb to have already worked everything out. She had been too nervous to properly look at the place they'd chosen, just where she would sit. She should have known Caleb would have looked it over more thoroughly. Should have known he'd have worked out how to stay close to her. She had, after all, known he wouldn't let her do this alone.

* * *

8pm rolled around faster than Hanna would have liked. She'd been more and more on edge the closer it got to them leaving for the bar. She kept repeating her mantra. But it kept getting drowned out by her own screams, the feel of freezing cold water. The feel of that cattle prod. She and Caleb had spent most of the time with him holding her and murmuring reassurances to her. She'd wanted to show him she'd gotten better, that she could handle this because she was the one playing with Noel. She was the one holding all the cards. That she could be strong again, brave again, for her friends. For him. But she'd struggled, and she'd given in and let Caleb comfort her. Let him be there for her. The drive had been silent and Caleb had held her hand the entire way. She'd insisted that he go in to the bar first, they couldn't go in together and she needed some time to gather her thoughts. To try to pull herself together. He'd been reluctant to leave her by herself, especially with the darkness closing in but she'd insisted she would be fine and they didn't have time to argue. So with one last touch, he'd flipped up his hood and sauntered in to the bar. It wasn't really a disguise. He'd just opted for some nondescript clothing and he'd assured her that the angle of the table meant Noel wouldn't be able to see him. But she'd been too on edge to tease him about it after the huge fuss he'd made.

She sat in the car, steadying her breathing, pushing her memories to the back of her mind. Trying to drown them out with memories of Caleb. Laughing with him earlier that day, hugging him…kissing him. _I'm doing this for Caleb. To keep him safe. To make sure Noel can't hurt him. To make sure Noel can't hurt my friends. I'm the one in charge here. I'm trapping Noel. I make the rules for this part of the game. He has to do what I say. I have all the cards. He can't hurt me in front of witnesses and he can't hurt me anymore than he has already. I'm not trapped. I'm not there anymore. He's trapped. He's the one at a disadvantage._ Hanna fingered the packet in her pocket, then threw open the door of the car, locked it and hurried the short distance towards the bright bar. Her heart pounding the entire way. She walked up to the bar itself, trying to keep calm. If Caleb saw her freaking out already he'd call it off…or at least insist on being there with her and then Noel might see, or Caleb would refuse to go back and hide and Noel wouldn't come anyway. She sat down and ordered two beers, getting a strange look from the bartender.

"I'm meeting someone. A friend" she said quickly, tugging on the bill of her cap. The bartender just raised his eyebrows. She could see Caleb from her spot at the bar, and he smiled at her reassuringly. She forced herself to smile back. A few minutes passed. Then five, ten….fifteen. he still wasn't there. _Maybe he didn't believe me….maybe I wasn't threatening enough? Or maybe he saw Caleb and I together…no. We arrived early and walked in separately. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe he has nothing to hide, maybe he just…the phone…I don't know. Where the hell is he?_ She thought as she checked the clock again. Her phone rang and she hurriedly grabbed it, flipping it over to see….. _Aria._ She'd briefly wondered if he'd figured her out…if he was calling to, well…call her out. She ignored the call, put the phone on silent and put it in her pocket. She wanted it close….just…just in case.

A few moments later, before she could panic anymore than she already was, she heard the door open and she carefully turned to look, trying not to be obvious about it. She was greeted with a familiar face. _Noel._ She felt a spike of terror but she quickly pushed it away. Replaced it with another feeling. With a sense of satisfaction. _He's come. You're mine now bitch._ She watched as he looked around the bar, then headed right over to the planned table. It was the only one still free, just like Caleb had known it would be at this time of the evening….partially because it was tucked out of the way and partially because he'd paid the bar owner to make sure it stayed free. Hanna surreptitiously made sure Noel was out of sight, then she carefully took the packet from her pocket. She looked at it, _am I really going to do this? Yes. I have to. Half…half the packet. No more no less. Mixed in to the drink it should work fine. He won't drink that much before he gets loopy right?_ She reached out and pulled one of the glasses in front of her closer. Looked around once more, then…..poured the entire packet in to the glass. She wasn't sure if it was the anger or the fear that made her do it. Sure he wouldn't be drinking much of it, but this would make sure it knocked him out…or at least made him woozy enough he'd be easy to manage. It made him less of a threat to her. To Caleb. She hurriedly put the packet back in her pocket, grabbed a straw and started to mix the powder in to the beer. Then she grabbed the second glass….she swallowed. This was it. _You can do this. You can do this. Caleb's right over there. There are people everywhere._

Hanna pulled on what she liked to call her Mona mask and she walked over with a lot more confidence than she felt, placed the two drinks on the table, making sure Noel had the drugged one in front of him. She knew it was that one because she kept repeating _right right right right,_ in her head the entire time. She couldn't afford to accidentally give herself the drugged drink. She settled herself in the seat as casually as she could, refusing to look in Caleb's direction in case Noel followed her gaze and noticed who she was looking at. Noel looked at her. She shuddered internally at his cold gaze as she met his eyes finally. Tried not to look down at his hands, right there on the table. Hands that had…had probably….

"I'm waiting for someone" He said coldly and Hanna snapped out of her thoughts. _Channel Mona. Mona must have done stuff like this all the time right? She was A. She's a genius. She wouldn't let Noel scare her. She'd show him who was boss. I need to do the same. I can't let him see how scared I am. Or he'll use it against me. Caleb's over there, I can feel him watching. It's going to be fine. I just need to play a part. Play Mona. Become Mona._

"You're waiting for me" she said, with a slight smirk. Noel sat back in his chair, contemplating her. He hadn't been expecting that, or at least…she didn't think he had. She felt a small sense of satisfaction. _People always underestimate me._ She continued to study Noel. He didn't look surprised, he'd had a more…. _huh_ , kind of air to him. But then he wouldn't show his hand like that. Wouldn't give her any power over him by showing her she'd taken him by surprise. Hanna started to second guess her reading of him, and before she could go too far with it and freak herself out at how bad she possibly could be at reading him, she forced her thoughts away from it. _Showtime. Guys have mastered this, and anything a guy can do...I can do better. It can't be that hard to drug Noel._ Hanna pushed the drugged beer towards him, a confident smirk on her face. He looked at the drink, then back up to her face….and…. _there it is._ Just for a second….a smile. A very, very brief smile. Hanna choked down her rising fear. She'd been right. She knew it. _Game on._


	32. Chapter Thirty-Two

"I know you killed Sarah" Hanna stated confidently. Looking him right in the eye. She refused to look away, refused to show him any weakness. She wanted to watch for his reaction, for anything that would give him away. _And there it is._ Not guilt. Not fear. Not remorse. There was a smile playing around his mouth….a laugh in his eyes. It was like he was mocking her. _Oh it's him alright. It has to be. Only AD….A….whatever it is would react like this. Like this was a game. Like killing someone was no big deal. Like they knew more than I did. I've got you Noel. Spencer wanted proof…you're going to give me it._

"I knew you'd eventually slip up" she said quietly, and more than a little to herself.

"Oh you've got it all wrong" he said mock innocently and she narrowed her eyes. _Here we go._ "Didn't you hear? Sarah fell in the shower" he was so…so..condescending. Any fear she'd felt at facing him was being pushed to the side by the anger she felt hearing him mock Sarah's death like that…her murder. She cocked her head to the side.

"Then why'd you have her phone?" Hanna said, pasting a faux confused expression over her features. _Two can play at that game._ "Why drive aall the way down to the city to dump it, and then….come here…" she said casually. Glancing about her nonchalantly. It was enough to catch a glimpse of Caleb. Eyes trained on she and Noel. Hands clenched on the table the knuckles white, looking ready to spring up at any moment and come to her rescue. His jaw was clenched as hard as his fists. She looked back at Noel, letting Calebs presence bolster her. "To try to get it back" she said, letting him know with her eyes that she had him. That she knew what he'd done. That she knew he was lying. A pause. He contemplated her silently. She knew he saw the look in her eyes, recognised what she was trying to communicate to him. He was weighing her up...but was it as an equal? That's what she needed. For him to see her as an equal. A partner. It was the only way she'd get any information out of him without having to resort to plan B, a part of her was hoping he'd confess right now, her phone was in her bag handily set to record...or maybe he'd take a couple of sips of his beer and it'd loosen him up enough...make him chatty. She really didn't want to go to plan B. _Or should it be plan D...for drugs? No. Focus Hanna!_

"What do you want Hanna?" He didn't move an inch, just gazed at her, his eyes cold. Hanna had the urge to fidget under his cold gaze, if not outright flee, but she played it off by leaning in, as if to confide in him. _Come on Noel. Trust me._

"The police are suspecting that there was foul play." She and Caleb had decided to play on Hanna's previous jail time. Make Noel think she wanted to protect her Mom and her Mom's hotel…and more importantly herself. Surely he'd be able to understand self preservation, for someone like him it was usually their top priority. She wouldn't mention the other girls at all, it would make him suspicious. He needed to think Hanna had broken away from the pack. Gone rogue. "They want to question me. Sarah died in my mom's hotel,' she sucked in a breath, managing to keep it steady, "they…know about our past. And that someone took Sarah's room key from the concierge desk" she said leadingly, frowning at the 'suspiciousness' of it all. The coincidence. _I wonder who that could have been._ Her tone said.

"Well that doesn't sound very good….for you" Noel said, seemingly uninterested in her plight. Completely unsympathetic. _Big shocker there._

"Or you" Hanna shot back immediately. _No more messing around. Time to step it up._ They stared at each other for a moment. "The cellphone was….a big screw up" Hanna said, relishing in the fact that he had screwed up…and letting him know it. Letting him know she had him, that she was the one in charge. "But…we can both walk away from this clean" she said and hoped she sounded persuasive, reaching for her glass and bringing it to her lips. Hoping he'd do the same. Hoping he'd take the bait. She took a sip and he studied her the entire time. She tried not to shift uncomfortably, tried not to look suspicious...or guilty.

"After the police talk to me they'll….question" she put emphasis on the word as she brought her eyes up to meet his gaze, "other guests" _I'll tell the police everything I know, and you'll be arrested._ She meant.

"Oh I wasn't in the hotel when it happened" he said casually. Too casually. "I went to see a movie" that irritating near smile hovering around his features, she felt a sudden and vicious urge to slap it from his face. _How long is he going to do this. He knows I know. Just cut a deal with me already. Tell me what I need._

"At my place" Hanna said. Giving him the opening, trying to push things along, push them in to the correct conversation. The one she needed. "We watched Birdman, right" it wasn't a question. She watched him take a breath. _Come on, come on. I told you I know, I offered you an out, why aren't you drinking to our scheming? That's how Mona does this right? Scheme and then have a celebratory drink? What's it going to take to get you to take the damn bait!?_ Hanna could feel herself getting anxious, this wasn't going to plan. She hadn't anticipated Noel dragging this out. She'd thought it would be easier, thought he'd own up to it once she presented him with the facts...or thought he'd take a sip of his doctored drink and open up like a clam, but she'd offered him the alibi, she'd had to. Because he wasn't giving her anything and she was getting desperate. She picked up her drink and raised it to him. _Yaaay evil plans! Cheers!_

"You help me, I help you" she said, trying to smile conspiratorially. She wasn't sure she pulled it off. She tried to smash down the growing panic she was feeling. Noel should be putty in her hands at this stage, anyone else would be with this much evidence against them. He reached for the glass… _yes…that's it…_ he tapped the rim with his finger. _Drink it…come on._

"I wanna see the phone" He said. It took a lot of effort to keep the disappointment from her face, he was rattling her. She hadn't thought it would be this _hard_. _I didn't give Mona nearly enough credit for all her scheming._ She put her glass down on the table, and reached in to her bag for the phone, hand passing over her own. She subtly checked it was still recording with a glance. Luckily she didn't like to leave it lying around, she didn't want to chance losing it. She raised it up for him to see then tucked it back away. She couldn't zip her bag back up though, because she needed whatever he said to be recorded clearly. Which meant now Noel knew where the phone was...and it wouldn't be hard for him to reach it. To overpower her. He looked at her as if to say, _oh? so?._ She raised her glass once again, swallowing down her fear. The tattered shreds of her Mona mask barely holding together.

"Cheers" She said. He smiled at her and it chilled her down to her bones, she felt the blood drain from her face. But then he finally, _finally,_ picked up his glass and raised it to hers. She forced herself not to sigh in relief. They clinked them together and then…he brought it to his lips. _Finally. This is it. Okay...he drinks a little. I drag this out...start talking plans and then once he loosens up from the drugs, I start to ask him pointed questions. What I have right now isn't enough. It's all circumstantial. It won't be enough. He hadn't admitted to anything...yet._ Noel paused with the drink millimetres away, his gaze shifting from it to her. She quickly gulped down some of her own drink, feeling her composure crack slightly.

"You should have some, it's good" she said in what she hoped was a nonchalant way, inwardly cursing herself for sounding so stupid.

"Not my thing" he said, shaking his head. The glass taking a trip back down on to the table. _Dammit he was so close._

"You have it" he said, pushing his glass towards her. _Does he know? He can't? How can he know? Damn, it's my fault. I must have overplayed it or...or...maybe he could just tell. Maybe he has some sort of evil plan radar? Ugh, don't be stupid Hanna._

"I already have one" She said with a slight shrug. They where both well aware of the stand off they where in, Hanna's back started to prickle with sweat.

"Take a sip" Noel enunciated clearly, it was an order...and….the look in his eyes, the tone of his voice. It sent a shiver down Hanna's spine. She had a flash of a dark, dank space. Phantom pain flared up. She swallowed, she couldn't help it. He knew. Somehow he knew or he'd guessed what she'd done. Or what she'd planned. She shouldn't be surprised. But she thought this one time she was in control. That she was the one pulling the strings. He must have seen the truth in her eyes, the panic, because he sat back, nodding to himself. She cursed herself. _I should have asked Mona for help...I should have asked Mona to do this part. She wouldn't have screwed it up._

The jig was up, she looked away and she wanted to cry more than anything, but she refused to show weakness to Noel. She felt powerless all over again. She couldn't even do this one thing, she'd lost any advantage they might have had. Any chance they had to get Noel. Because she'd overplayed it, not hidden her emotions well enough or whatever it was she'd done, hell she wasn't even sure. _Maybe the assholes psychic._ _I shouldn't have kept insisting that he drink, who does that? Frat boys trying to get you to drink a spike drink...I'm sure Noel's used the move himself before. I'm such an idiot._ Hanna looked up to stop herself from crying. She couldn't stop him from leaving. She wasn't strong enough…and she didn't want to get that close to him…didn't want to touch him.

In her peripheral she saw Noel start to move towards her and she knew what was coming. She'd known the second she'd shown him exactly where it was. _He's going to take the phone…and I won't be able to stop him. I'm too weak. I can't fight him, he's too strong. Like the barn…I couldn't stop any of it….I can't…_

Her thoughts where cut off by Noel falling in to the table in front of her, glasses crashing and spraying beer everywhere as they where knocked flying thanks to the impact of Noels body. Hanna looked up, heart racing, to see Caleb standing there shaking out his hand. He turned to Hanna, and offered her a small smile before gently pulling her out of the booth and away from Noel.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, stroking her arms gently. She nodded at him numbly, eyes trained on Noel, not wanting to let him out of her sight. Noel wiped some blood from his mouth and shook his head, the movement causing him to look to the side. A motion that gave him the perfect view of Hanna's bag. Open. Phone in full view. He reached towards it, and Caleb caught the movement, lunging to stop him. They struggled, shoving each other...for now, and Hanna could only watch, her throat completely dry. _This isn't happening, this isn't happening. Noel might….he might….Caleb…._

"Caleb" she choked out. She didn't scream it like she wanted to, but it was enough to make him turn to her instantly, a questioning look in his eyes. Which was enough to give Noel a chance to take the phones...hers and Sarah's. Caleb tore his eyes away from Hanna and looked around at the motion of Noel stepping back. Phones in hand.

"Hey-" he said, once again lunging for Noel, but Hanna saw the look in Noels eye and she grabbed Caleb by the arm, clutching tightly, hugging it for dear life. She did not want Caleb getting in to a real fist fight with Noel. Noel had been too focused on getting the phone out of Hanna's bag to really go for Caleb, but now...he wouldn't hold back. He wouldn't settle for merely shoving Caleb. She knew the kind of damage Noel could do. Her nails where probably digging in to Caleb's arm, but she didn't care. She didn't know what Noel would do if they pushed him. Sure they where in a public place, but that hadn't stopped him from forcibly taking that phone. No-one had batted an eye when Caleb punched Noel. Noel held Hanna's phone up for her to see, before switching off the voice recording app and then deleting all that had been recorded. Hanna felt her nails dig in to Caleb's arm even more, before his hand came up to cover both of hers. Sure, what she'd recorded wouldn't do much...but it might have been suspicious enough for the cops to at least question him...which might get them... _nowhere. It would get them nowhere. It doesn't matter._

Noel then slowly looked Sarah's phone over, before placing it in his pocket. His movements slow and deliberate. He knew Hanna couldn't take it back from him. And he knew she wouldn't let Caleb either because she didn't want him getting hurt. He straightened his jacket deliberately, taking his time. Then he looked up to meet Hanna's eyes, stepping closer, her phone held out towards she and Caleb. Caleb stepped in front of her as much as he could with her death grip on his arm and snatched her phone from Noels hand. Noel sneered. He leaned in towards her, past Caleb, completely ignoring him, like he wasn't even there.

"Be careful Hanna. Or you'll end up just like Sarah" he said in a low voice. Steadily. His words full of a quiet malice. Her knees went weak, her grip on Caleb's arm the only thing keeping her standing as she heard her own pain filled screams filling her head. Her vision momentarily going dark as she was back in that place. The barn.

 _Him. It was him. I killed the wrong person. It was Noel. He…he did those things…he…he…_ she felt tears rush to her eyes. _I killed an innocent person. He might not have been a good person, but I punished him for Noel's crimes. For something he didn't even do._ Noel turned and casually walked away, not a care in the world. Caleb tracking the movement with his eyes until Noel was out the door, before turning to Hanna and pulling her to his chest, arms coming around her, one hand cupping the back of her head.

"It's okay Han. We'll figure something else out, this was a long shot anyway, right?" Hanna didn't respond, but he could hear her sniffling, feel her hands clutching his shirt. He leaned down towards her ear. "Han...I'm fine. He didn't hurt me, I'm safe. I'm pain free. I don't have a scratch on me...even my hand's good! Noel's gone. You're safe. It'll be okay." He said comfortingly. She just clutched him tighter. Refusing to let go.

* * *

She and Caleb had returned to their motel room. She'd stuck to him like glue for a good ten minutes before they'd ventured out to the car. She hadn't let go of his hand the entire time, until he'd closed the car door after making sure she was buckled in. She'd grabbed his hand again, as soon as he'd thought about putting it near the gear stick. Caleb hated the look of terror that still lingered in her eyes over an hour after the event, it was like the night she'd been brought back to him by Alison's aunt. He should have punched Noel again, but Hanna had stopped him. He knew why. She'd been afraid he would get hurt, that Noel would hurt him or worse. He hadn't wanted to upset Hanna further, not when she was already closing to losing it in the middle of the bar so he'd backed down. _At least I got in one good punch. Like hell was he going to touch her._ Caleb snarled internally. He'd seen what was going to happen, he'd seen the moment Noel figured out what was going on and he'd moved instantly. Shooting across the bar. He'd promised Hanna Noel wouldn't lay a finger on her, and he wasn't going to let her down. Not this time. Not 'd relished the feel of his fist meeting Noels face. He just wished he'd broken something in the other guy.

Caleb walked back in to the main room after running his hand under some cold water for a few minutes. It may or may not be a little swollen. Hanna hadn't wanted him to leave her sight but he'd drawn the line at her following him in to the bathroom. He glanced around, eyes zeroing in on Hanna standing by the window, phone in hand.

"What is it?" he asked, noting the look on her face.

"I have a voicemail from Emily" she said, slowly. "They've been trying to call all day but if one of them finally left a message…."

"Then it must be important" Caleb finished for her. Coming to stand behind her, with his hands on her shoulders. Gently kneading. She looked back down at her phone, hesitated for a split second and then slid her finger across the screen. Her voicemail sprang open and she clicked speaker before clicking play.

"Hanna, we know you're planning something. Whatever it is, don't do it. We found out Noels been living at his parents cabin, and Spencer found something….a video. You where right all along. He is dangerous, okay but we're ready to go to the police and tell them everything. But we want to do this all together. We love you. Please come home" Hanna listened in silence. She wasn't comforted by the fact at all. She'd lost the phone, and they needed all the evidence they could get. She'd just witnessed first hand how well he could lie. He'd wriggle out of it, either with lies or with money, or he'd get off on a lesser charge that he could brush under the carpet. She knew he would. It didn't matter what kind of video Spencer had, hell she might not even have anything. They could just be saying all this to get her to come back before she did something they didn't want her to do. _Well too bad. Someone has to do something instead of this endless waiting around and debating over and over. Enough is enough._ Mona hadn't said their cover was blown, but the girls must have started to suspect something. Hanna stared down at her phone while Caleb rubbed her shoulders.

"I told you it'd be okay Han. All we have to do is go back to Rosewood and tell the police everything. They'll arrest Noel. Search him. Search his car…his house….they'll find the phone and whatever else he was lurking around and it'll be bye bye Noel" Caleb said reassuringly.

"Yeah….right" Hanna said, forcing a smile to her face as she turned to face Caleb, hugging him tightly. She'd need to borrow some of his strength for what she had to do next. She couldn't tell Caleb what she planned. He'd try to stop her. She knew he would because she knew what she was planning was completely crazy. Or worse...he'd insist on coming with her. She couldn't let him. If things went bad…she couldn't let Caleb be hurt. The one thing she wanted most...was to keep him safe. A million gruesome images had flashed before her eyes when he'd been fighting with Noel in the bar, none of them with a happy ending for Caleb. She just needed to keep him safe. She needed to do this alone. She would have to do it alone. Because no matter what Spencer had, it wouldn't be enough. Nothing would be enough except a confession from Noels own mouth...and she was going to get it.

"But we can't drive back tonight, it's too late. We'll go in the morning" Hanna said in to Caleb's chest.

"You sure Han? I don't mind driving?" Caleb tried to move backwards to look at her, but she buried her face further in to his chest.

"No…let's just…enjoy the night together. Before we have to deal with Noel and the police…." Hanna trailed off. Caleb kissed the top of her head.

"If you're sure. Hey, I'm gonna take a quick shower, will you be okay by yourself for a few minutes? I know you're still shaky from what happened earlier, but I'll triple lock the door? Not that I'd mind an audience" Caleb trailed off playfully, she kept her face buried in his chest because if he saw her face…looked in to her eyes. He would know she was lying and he would know what she was planning. She managed a giggle.

"I'm sure it'd be quite the show but I'm going to get ready for bed. I'm so tired….." she said squeezing him. He nodded and gave her another quick kiss to the forehead, before pulling back and cupping her face between his hands. Their lips met in a gentle, comforting kiss before Caleb pulled away and disappeared in to the bathroom. Hanna waited until she heard the water running before she moved.

She grabbed the hammer, the rope and her cap and she bolted out the door as quietly as she could. She didn't give herself time to think about the fact she was alone. By herself. In the dark. Outside. She slammed down any flashback that tried to surface. She had one job to do. A mission. She couldn't fail. She focused on it with everything she had. Something had come over her and the trip to the Khans' cabin went by in a blur. She parked away from the Cabin, she didn't want a strange car to be spotted...for anything to look suspicious.

It was dark…deserted. Noel wasn't there yet. _Good_. She'd be able to take him by surprise whenever he came back. She pulled the cap from her head and tossed it down right by the gate. He'd have to get out of the car to let down the barrier. He'd notice her cap and it'd distract him long enough for her to sneak up behind him. He'd either recognise it and wonder why it was there...wonder if Hanna was there, or if she'd been there...or wonder who else would have had reason to hang around the property. She didn't care as long as he focused on the mysterious hat rather than his surroundings.

She waited in the shadows, clutching the hammer so tight her fingers started to ache. Her heartbeat echoing in her ears, she was breathing unevenly. It felt like forever to her but it wasn't long before she heard the sound of approaching tyres, saw the glare of headlights as a car approached. _I made it just in time. Lucks on my side. Hopefully it'll hold out. Because if this goes wrong..._

She watched the car pull up in front of the barrier. Watched Noel hop out of the vehicle, not a care in the world. Watched him pull his keys out, looking down at them as he sorted through for the one for the gate. She watched, noting the exact moment he noticed the cap, right where she knew he'd see it in the glare from his headlights. Not immediately noticeable from in the car, but definitely if you where walking to open the gate. She watched him cock his head to the side, before slowly moving to circle round it, before bending down to pick it up. She crept up slowly and quietly while he was focused on the hat. She didn't give herself time to hesitate. She needed to act. She needed to move. She needed the element of surprise.

He was staring at the hat, puzzling it out, she could practically see the wheels turning in his brain. She was right on him when she saw him turn his head to the side, and she swung. She hit him with the handle of the hammer, and he went down like a tonne of bricks. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel some measure of satisfaction….retribution. He'd hurt her over and over again. Tortured her. For fun, or whatever sick reason he had. This was nothing compared to that. But she wasn't like him. She wasn't a murderer. She just wanted the information they needed to end all of this. For good. And she'd do what she had to in order to make that happen. To make sure none of her friends where the next one locked in a barn at Noels not so tender mercy.

"It's over bitch" she ground out. She stared down at him lying there. Helpless. Weak. Unable to defend himself. Just like she'd been. But she'd beaten him this time. She'd got him. He was at her mercy. She was the one with the power now. He would be the scared one. A smile twitched across her face, involuntarily. She didn't think it was a pleasant one. She reached down, grabbing him by the ankles and slowly started to drag him towards her car, the sound of his body being dragged over the dirt permeating the night air.


	33. Chapter Thirty-Three

Caleb was losing his mind. He'd stepped in to the shower for 10 minutes. _Ten._ And in that time Hanna had pulled a Houdini and disappeared. He knew something was wrong. Ever since the bar….she'd been acting odd, acting strange. She wasn't herself. _Yeah well, that's pretty obvious right now isn't it Caleb?_ He thought to himself. Hanna had struggled with being alone ever since they got her back, she'd struggled with going anywhere by herself. She always needed Caleb there but he left the room for a few minutes, and she'd left. Gone. He had no idea where. Well….that wasn't entirely true. He was just hoping she hadn't actually gone after Noel. Something was wrong, it was like she'd snapped. All of her fears…it's like she'd switched them off, they where less than whatever it was she was feeling. Rage. A need for revenge. Whatever it was. He'd be a lot prouder of the fact she'd overcome those fears if there wasn't a high possibility she was acting out a scene from Dexter right then. He paced. He couldn't go after her, she'd taken the car. She'd also taken the hammer, and the rope. _Okay…so…she can't really kill him with a hammer…I mean she could but I don't think Hanna's the bludgeon someone to death type…I hope. Damnit Hanna, where are you!?_ He pulled out his cell, his finger hovering over Mona's contact. Then he shook himself, and pulled up Hanna's. Tried to call again. She sent him to voicemail. He resisted the urge to throw his phone at the wall. He should have known better than to leave her alone, he'd just…he'd just thought she might need some space. To think. But he should have known better, he should have known something was wrong. _You've failed once again Caleb. Good job._

He didn't know how long he sat there waiting, but eventually he heard the sound of their car pulling in to the parking lot. Heard the key in the lock. He looked up as Hanna walked through the door. She didn't look hurt…but she did look..not like herself.

"Where the hell have you been?! I've been going out of my mind, for days you can't go out at night by yourself, you're too scared, and then suddenly I decide to take a shower and you decide it's the perfect time to go for a night time drive? I'm not stupid Hanna, what did you do?" he resisted the urge to shout at her, he spoke low. His worry turning to anger. She swallowed and he looked at her expectantly. She said something, but she spoke too fast, the words running together. He frowned.

"What?"

"Noel Khan is tied up in the trunk" she said. Caleb blinked at her. _I misheard that right? Tell me I misheard that._

"You have got to be kidding me" he said. She just stared back at him. The look in her eyes…she looked surprised. Surprised that she'd done it….a little bit scared…but also triumphant. Caleb shook his head, and walked past her, heading towards the car. He stood in front of the trunk, and looked down at it. _Please let it be empty._ He thought, before he popped the trunk…..and stared. _Dammit Hanna._

"I told you."

"How did you even get him in there?"

"I don't know, adrenalin rush? Like when mom's develop super strength and lift cars off babies and stuff" she said innocently. Caleb looked at her skeptically.

"Sure Hanna." he shook his head again. _Right…so, this is happening. Hanna just abducted Noel Khan._ "We should put him back wherever you found him" Caleb said firmly. _Great, now I sound like I'm talking about a stray dog._

"No. No Caleb we can't. We have to do this. We need to get solid proof that he's AD. We need to take a DNA sample and get it tested, because if we can prove he's Mary's other kid, then he has to be AD!" Hanna said, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Hanna he could be AD whether or not he's Mary's kid it won't prove anything, you know that right?"

"Yes. Which is why we're going to get a confession too. It's the only thing that he won't be able to wriggle out of. The only thing." Caleb sighed. He could hear the determination in her voice, and she wasn't cowering in Noels presence. She'd made it all the way out to confront him in the dark. By herself. He was a little bit proud of her, even though he knew he really shouldn't be.

"Fine. I guess we're going rogue….well roguer" Caleb said. "Help me get him inside".

And that's how Caleb found himself in a seedy motel room, with an unconscious Noel Khan tied to a chair and gagged with duct tape. Caleb sat in the other chair, behind the camera, watching Noel with a sharp eye.

"How hard did you hit him?" Caleb said incredulously, checking his watch. He hadn't come round the entire time and they'd been staring at him for the past half hour. Well…Caleb had. Hanna had been pacing and staring and pacing and staring. Like she was working herself up to something. Caleb didn't want to contemplate what.

"I don't know….I just….swung and…do you think….do you think I hit him too hard? Do you think I….I….." Caleb rolled his eyes.

"No Hanna, you didn't suddenly develop super strength and hit him so hard he's in a coma. He keeps groaning so he's obviously fine. Well…aside from his current predicament." Caleb said calmly. Hanna resumed pacing.

"We don't have time to waste Caleb. Mona texted me. The girls aren't buying whatever she's selling them anymore. They think I've been kidnapped by Noel or something, they called the cops."

"As if I'd let you get kidnapped" Caleb scoffed. "What do they think happened to me?"

"Apparently they think you went off looking for me" Caleb raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"And they think I got kidnapped too?" Caleb asked. Hanna just shrugged and wouldn't look him in the eye. _As if._ "Fine, whatever. We have limited time. And we have to be careful, the cops are going to be looking for you and Noel" Caleb stated, "And apparently I'm not important enough to be included" he muttered the last part.

"We need to wake him up" Hanna said decisively.

"And how are we going to do that? Rise and shine Noel, time for you to confess all your sins?" Caleb asked skeptically. Hanna shook her head, and Caleb watched as she took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. He tilted his head to the side and followed her with his eyes as she stalked towards Noel. Hanna ripped the tape off Noels mouth viciously.

"Wake up bitch" Hanna snapped, then shoved his shoulder when he didn't do as she commanded. Caleb raised an eyebrow.

"Really Hanna?"

"What? Wasn't it threatening enough?" Hanna asked worriedly, before sighing and shaking her head. "You do it, you're good at threatening people!" Caleb chuckled.

"Um thanks. But this is your show. Do what you need to do." Caleb said, settling back in to his chair. He knew Hanna wouldn't really hurt Noel, he was curious to see what she would do. She was still scared of Noel, but with Noel tied up and Caleb at her back….she was the one with all the power against him, and it seemed to be boosting her confidence. Maybe it would prove to be cathartic to some extent.

"Don't say anything. I need Noel to take this seriously and he won't if you keep joking around Caleb" Hanna said. Caleb held his hands up defensively.

"Wow, sorry. I just don't know what the etiquette is for abduction" He said with a smirk.

"Like that, you need to stop doing that. Noel won't say anything if he thinks we're amateurs just having a friendly sit down. He needs to be scared." Hanna said firmly. Caleb mimed zipping his lips and held his arms out in a 'go on then' gesture. Hanna walked over to the table and started the camera up, before picking up the knife from the table. Caleb wanted to make a comment, but he refrained. He'd already asked her snarkily if she'd picked a big enough knife. I mean….c'mon. But he figured it made Hanna feel safe so he'd let it go pretty fast. _The couple that abducts and interrogates together..._ He watched as she unsheathed it.

Hanna stared at the knife. _There's no going back after this._ She glanced to the side at Noel. The person who'd kept her in the barn. She was more and more sure of that fact. It was him. He'd done those things to her. He'd treated her like an animal. This was her chance. She could prove everything if she could get him to talk. She'd be the one that made sure he was locked up. Trapped. With no escape. She'd make sure he paid for what he did. He wouldn't get away with it. It was like she'd been in a haze, like she had when she hit Rollins. She hadn't really come back to herself until she'd had to walk in to the room and tell Caleb she'd kidnapped Noel. She could see how badly she'd worried him, and she hadn't thought about the dark…her fears while she'd been so focused on what she had to do. But her hands had started to shake as she'd pulled in to the motel, and she was glad Caleb hadn't seen her practically sprint for the door. She knew he didn't agree with this, but it was already done, and he knew she needed to do this. So he'd support her. Like he always did. Hanna stared at the blade, unable to look at Noel any longer. She caught her reflection in it…saw the haunted look in her eyes. He'd put that look there….it was him….

_"_ _Please, open the door! You can't leave me in here! I'm begging you! PLEASE!" Banging her hands on the door so hard, it hurt. Over and over. Splinters digging in to her palms. Desperate to get out. Terrified. The dark creeping in, feeling cold all over, feeling the cold settling in to her bones. Hearing sounds but not being able to see where they where coming from. Needing to get out. But being trapped._

Hanna mentally shook herself, coming back to the room and found Caleb had come up behind her. Caleb had seen the look on her face, and he'd known she'd gone back to the barn. Silently, he'd gotten up from his seat, and walked over to her slowly. He didn't want to startle her but she was completely oblivious to his presence. When she looked around at him, finally snapping out of it and noticing him, he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. Then he let go, and took a step back, so he was standing back behind the camera. Hanna stalked over to Noel, knife in hand. She needed him to be afraid when he woke up. She needed him to know how she'd felt.

"This is your chance to tell me the truth, just admit it" She said evenly. "Admit your AD" she snapped when he didn't answer. Noel just groaned, she gave his shoulder another shove in frustration. Unsure if he was just pretending. She swallowed and steeled herself.

"Fine." she grabbed hold of his hair. She didn't want to enjoy this, but a part of her was. A part of her felt like she was taking herself back, taking control back, taking her life back. This Noel wasn't the terrifying monster that had kept her locked in the barn. The one that had tortured her. This Noel was pathetic. She gave a sharp tug on his hair, pulling his head up. "We'll do it my way" she said coldly. She stared at him for a moment, then brought the knife up to his neck. _I want you to be afraid Noel._ She glided the knife along his neck, not with enough pressure to break the skin, but just enough for him to feel it there. No reaction. She let his head drop. _Wow I guess he's really out of it. Maybe I shouldn't have hit him so hard? Caleb could be wrong, maybe I just don't know my own strength._ She babbled internally. _Just do it Hanna. This is man who kept you locked up like an animal. Who doused you in water and then hit you over and over again with a cattle prod. Just do it. You're not even really hurting him. You just need a little bit of blood. He did all of that to you, why are you balking at making him hurt too. Just do it…_

She felt the burns and marks on her back flare up, as if reminding her of Noels crimes, and without thinking she slashed the knife across his thigh quickly and just a little bit viciously. She stared at the bloody knife. Unable to look away. She'd made him bleed. She'd hurt _him._


	34. Chapter Thirty-Four

After Caleb had scraped the blood from the knife carefully in to a vial, not commenting on Hanna's little Dexter moment, he and Hanna made their way to a nearby lab that they'd found online. They'd even made contact with a tech who had no problems speeding up results for a little…incentive.

"You know…this isn't how I pictured us spending our time together once we'd gotten, you know…back together" Caleb said thoughtfully. "Kidnapping and slicing up somebody didn't come in to it all…or using a Q-tip to de-blood a knife…"

"We're on the right track Caleb. I know it. Noel Khan has been behind all of this." Hanna said, voice determined.

"I know Han, I'm just saying" he said teasingly. Hanna cracked a smile.

"I feel like I'm in a TV show…one of those crime ones you know?"

"Oh yeah. I know the feeling. I've had that feeling since we made ourselves at home in that motel room. The crime show has changed multiple times though." Caleb said as they walked in to the lab.

They looked around the quiet waiting room. "We're right on time" Caleb said as he checked his watch.

"Over there" Hanna said motioning to a guy in a white lab coat, that was standing off to the side and out of the way, trying to look unobtrusive. Hanna made eye contact with him, and a look passed between them. _Are you the guy? Yeah, I'm the guy._

Hanna started to march over until Caleb tugged her arm. She adjusted her pace and did her best to saunter off nonchalantly. "We really need to work on your spy skills Han." Caleb whispered to her as they approached the lab tech.

"Are you Doctor McBribe?" Hanna said.

"I am if you keep your voice down" He said hushing her, as Caleb tried to stifle a laugh. _Hanna's been watching way too much Gre_ _y's Anatomy._

"What?!" Hanna hissed, turning to Caleb.

"Oh nothing. I just can't believe you forgot his name and came up with _that."_

"Well it works on Grey's Anatomy" Hanna said haughtily to Caleb's slowly shaking head before turning back to the tech. She pulled the small vial from her bag and held it out to him. He looked at it for a moment, before taking it from her.

"So, what's the rush? If you don't mind me asking. Trying to prove somebodies your baby daddy?" He asked conspiratorially, "I live for these stories" he said looking over at Caleb expectantly. Caleb held is hands up.

"Don't look at me. This is all her" Hanna nudged him in the ribs. "What? It is? It's your idea" Hanna rolled her eyes, and Caleb chuckled. Something on the screen behind the tech caught his eye and leaving Hanna to run her show, he found himself wandering over to check out what was playing on it. Hanna turned back to the man.

"Yeah…something like that" She said, trying to sound confident. The tech gave her a look. "Nothing illegal. Pinkie swear!" Hanna blurted. She handed him the packet of money before she could dig a deeper hole. He took it from her, opening it quickly to leaf through and check the agreed amount was there. He looked back up.

"I can get you the results by tomorrow" he said, tucking the envelope in to his pocket before nodding his head and turning to leave, Hanna mustered up a smile and watched him go before breathing a sigh of relief. In a few hours...they'd know. She wandered over to Caleb, who was staring up at something.

"What are you watching?" she asked curiously.

"You" he said calmly. Too calmly. Hanna followed his gaze up to the screen to see…herself. She was being reported as a missing person. "We're out of time" Caleb said grimly. "Everyone's going to be looking for you and for Noel. We need to get out of here" Caleb said, taking her hand and walking quickly but calmly out of the lab. Caleb kept quiet until they where in the car on the way back to their seedy motel room.

"You know what we have to do now right? This just got even more complicated. With the cops looking for you and Noel, we need help." Caleb said matter of factly. He was trying not to be offended that no-one was worried _he'd_ been kidnapped along with Noel. On the one hand...as if he'd let that happen. On the other...it _could_ have happened. Everyone seemed to think he'd gone off after Hanna to try and find her and was out there doing...whatever.

"I know…I just didn't want to have to drag anyone else in to this" Hanna said quietly. Caleb looked over at her. She might not have been thinking entirely when she snatched Noel, but her heart was in the right place. She wanted to protect her friends and him, she wanted to make sure Noel couldn't hurt them again. He understood, but they'd dug a pretty big hole and they wouldn't be able to get out of it themselves.

"Oh so you don't mind dragging me in to everything?" Caleb said teasingly, trying to lighten the mood but Hanna didn't smile. "Han. I'm joking. You can drag me anywhere, you know that right? She feels the same way too" Caleb said reassuringly. Hanna nodded and looked out of the window, not willing to be comforted right then.

Hanna watched Caleb check the bandages on Noel's leg, ears trained on what was playing as a backdrop to the scene. Thanks to him they had a direct feed to the cops frequency and they could hear everything that was going on. A blessing and a curse. It was putting Hanna more and more on edge but at the same time...they needed to know what was going on and they where well aware of that.

"Hanna Marin, white female. Blonde. Mid-twenties, is now considered a missing person" a scratchy voice was saying as she made her way round the table to stand by the window. She peered out, half expecting to see a squad of cop cars screaming in to the lot. She'd been on edge ever since they'd been at the lab….since she'd seen the news reports and realised she might have made a huge mistake. Done the stupidest thing she'd ever done. Mona never would have made that kind of error, walking in to a public place like that….no disguise, just right there in plain sight where anyone could see and identify her. _Caleb's right, I really suck at this. He doesn't know what to do next, I don't know what to do next…..I just….I just wanted to help._ Hanna sighed in frustration, looking over at Noel sharply as he groaned at Caleb tugging on his bandages.

"Possibly adducted by one Noel Khan. White male, also mid twenties. He should be considered dangerous and possibly armed" the scratchy voice said and Caleb snorted.

"Yeah…he's real dangerous alright. He's been out like a baby for hours, tied to a freaking chair" Caleb said, shaking his head. Hanna watched as he stepped back, keeping an eye on Noel as he let out another groan. They where mostly sure he wasn't faking it. They had left him while they went to the lab, and he was still there. He hadn't even moved an inch. Hanna sighed again, and reached for her phone, quickly typing in a number that she knew by heart.

"I need your help" Hanna said desperately. "And I need you to come alone" She hoped she couldn't hear the despair in her voice. She hoped she sounded in control. It didn't really matter, she would come either way. Whether Hanna sounded like she had everything under control, or whether Hanna was panicking, she had Hanna's back and she'd be more than willing to help them out of this mess.

* * *

It wasn't long after she made the call before there was a knock at the door. Caleb peered out the window through the tiny gap in the newspaper pages. "It's her" he confirmed. Hanna rushed to the door and pulled it open to reveal Mona. Mona took one look at Hanna's face and immediately said "What did you do?!" Hanna didn't answer, she just stepped back in to the room fidgeting nervously, Mona following and shutting the door behind her. "Han?" Mona asked when Hanna didn't say a word and wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Don't freak out" Hanna said quietly, and Mona looked at her in confusion with a little bit of worry thrown in there.

"Look to your right" Caleb said, helpfully. Mona spun towards his voice, and then her eyes settled on Noel Khan. Out cold. Tied to a chair. She cocked her head.

"We're sorry to rope you in like this, but when we saw the news we didn't know what to do. We need more time, he's not talking but the cops are going to be looking for us everywhere and….and…"

"Um, next time you might want to call me _before,_ you abduct someone and go on the run. It just makes my life a little easier" Mona looked accusingly at Caleb.

"Hey! I didn't know she was doing this. I am an innocent party! I went to the shower and came back to, _hey Caleb, hope you don't mind but Noel Khan's tied up in my trunk unconscious. Surprise!"_

"That's not how it happened!" Hanna defended slapping his arm. Mona hushed them both.

"It doesn't matter how it happened, it happened. I thought you where just going after him to follow him, try to get some evidence to use against him…to make him confess."

"I was! Once we found the phone he dumped, we tried to drug him so we could get him to lower his inhibitions and talk...to confess at the bar, and bring him back here and get him to talk if it still wasn't working. I mean...I would have had to get him to drink all the drugs before we could do that...and maybe we wouldn't have had to bring him back here then...but then we wouldn't have been able to leave him at the bar..." Hanna rambled defensively.

"Han...focus" Caleb prompted.

"You did not just try to make that sound logical" Mona said staring at her.

"It's not my fault he wouldn't drink his stupid roofied beer." Hanna grumbled. Mona looked at Caleb, who just raised his eyebrows at her.

"He saw through it, took the phone by force." Mona raised an eyebrow, _you couldn't stop him?_ she seemed to be asking. Caleb looked meaningfully at Hanna who was hugging herself and chewing on a nail. Mona nodded in understanding before heaving a sigh.

"Okay. Plan failed. Hanna went dark side bludgeoned and kidnapped Noel. Can't say he didn't have it coming. We'll deal. Somehow. The girls stopped buying my excuses with the more of their own digging they did. And when they realised Caleb wasn't at the apartment, they knew Hanna wasn't either. I couldn't do anything. They thought Noel had kidnapped you after you went after him or something."

"And what did they think I was doing?" Caleb said exasperatedly.

"Oh they think you've been driving around crying and trying to find Hanna this entire time using your hacker skills. Or that Noel did you in to get to Hanna. Or that you died heroically trying to keep her from Noel. It varies depending on their mood" Mona said helpfully. "Hanna's the bigger priority to them, so they focused on her."

"Gee thanks." Caleb said in a voice laced with sarcasm. His brain failing to even come up with an appropriately snarky comment to that.

"So what…you've been waiting for him to wake up this entire time?" Mona asked, looking between the two of them and forcing them to get back on track.

"Not exactly" they both said, it was then that Mona noticed the bandage on Noel's leg.

"It's not what it looks like" Hanna said hurriedly. "We needed blood to take to the lab to get tested to see if he's Mary's other kid!"

"And you couldn't just take a swab?"

"Um…well….this seemed easier?" Hanna shrugged.

"You only needed to prick his finger!" Mona pointed out.

"Her hand slipped?" Caleb butted in to the conversation and Mona turned to glare at him before looking up heavenward and taking a breath.

"When do you get the test results?" Mona asked, turning back to Hanna.

"Not til tomorrow" Mona nodded to herself and approached Noel. She looked him over, and then crouched down and started to feel up his legs. Caleb and Hanna looked at each other.

"Um, Mona. What are you doing?" Hanna asked hesitantly. Mona ignored her and carried on feeling him up. "Is this to do with that time you two dated and he-"

"No" Mona cut her off, fiddling with something. Hanna looked at her questioningly, but Mona took her time standing up, brushing herself down and taking a breath. Then she turned to face Hanna and Caleb.

"I was looking for this" She said holding up a thumb drive triumphantly.

"What is that?" Caleb asked, narrowing his eyes at it.

"Seriously? You really haven't spoken to anyone?" Mona said, annoyed, looking between the two of them.

"Um…we've kind of had our hands full?" Hanna offered. Mona rolled her eyes.

"While you two where busy playing house with Noel, the others made a discovery. This. There's footage on here that proves that Noel was working with Charlotte. He was part of the dollhouse"

"What?" Hanna said faintly, Caleb reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist, a silent gesture of support.

"I was worried he'd destroyed it but clearly you knocked him out before he had the chance to" Mona said with what almost sounded like pride in her voice. Hanna and Caleb looked at each other.

"That's what Emily was talking about in her message Han. The proof Spencer found. This video" Caleb said excitedly.

"You don't need the results Hanna, This is more than enough to put Noel behind bars" Mona said, smiling. Hanna chewed her lip. Noel had stolen that back from Spencer, it was obvious, and if he did it once he could do it again, they all knew evidence disappeared all the time when it came to all things A or AD. It didn't even matter if it was at Rosewood PD or not. She didn't trust it...found it hard to trust anyone besides Noel, Mona and the girls. Besides….that was just the dollhouse. What about everything else he'd done? What about what he'd done to her? He'd never admit to it, so what…he'd just get away with it? Get away with everything he'd been doing!? Hanna could feel emotions rising up, choking her.

"No" she got out, shaking her head.

"What do you mean no?" Caleb asked gently, his hand rubbing soothing circles on her back, while Mona looked at her in concern.

"Busting Noel for the dollhouse is like busting a mob boss for tax evasion. It's settling" Hanna said vehemently. She looked at Noel. Allowing herself for the first time to embrace the memories of what he'd done to her. Allowed them to fuel her. "I'm not ready to settle" She said darkly. Caleb and Mona looked at each other uncertainly.

"But Hanna, you can't get any worse than the dollhouse" Mona said without thinking and Caleb winced. He knew Mona didn't mean it how it sounded. For Mona, the worst thing Noel had done wasn't anything AD had done recently. It was the dollhouse. Locking her in there, keeping her in that pit. But Mona was too busy thinking of that, thinking of her own pain an suffering. He watched Mona's face. Saw her wince moments after the words left her mouth. Mona opened her mouth to take it back but Hanna cut her off.

"I have scars on my back that say different" Hanna snapped and Mona looked away. "I want Noel to be held accountable for everything that he did. Every single thing. I'm gonna prove he's AD." She looked at Caleb and Mona, "I _need_ to" she said desperately. "I _have_ to." Caleb and Mona both saw the determination in her eyes. She needed this. She needed Noel to be trapped 100%. No wriggle room. Needed him to pay for what he'd done to her so she could start to really heal. Pay for everything he'd done to everyone so that they could all move on with their lives. The whole kidnapping Noel thing, it might be bringing Hanna back to herself, but that was only so long as she had that to keep her going. Helping her friends to focus on. Once this was over, she'd need to know that he'd paid for every single bit of pain he'd inflicted on her and her friends, because if he didn't it would eat her up inside and destroy her. Mona and Caleb shared a look of understanding then turned back to Hanna.

"We need to stay hidden for ten more hours, please Mona." Hanna said, her voice cracking.

"Hiding's the last thing you're going to do" Mona said, with her signature smirk. Caleb sighed. _Here we go..._


	35. Chapter Thirty-Five

_"_ _Thank you again Mona. Are you sure you're able to handle…"_

_"_ _Don't worry. I got my end covered"_

Hanna sighed, looking out the car window. Mona had smirked, and made her run through the explanation one more time. The three of them had concocted it and it had worked. Hanna wasn't sure how she felt about that, considering it meant her ability to lie must be off the charts. The cops had bought it…her friends had bought it. As much as she hated lying to them it was necessary. She didn't want them involved in this. She wanted to keep them safe. Mona had left to go and deal with Jenna and she and Caleb had headed back to Rosewood. Hanna had delivered a masterful performance to the cops and her friends and she and Caleb where now on their way back to the apartment, being tailed by a cop. Hanna's new guard. She couldn't believe they where going back to the apartment. They hadn't anticipated having a cop tailing them, it meant they couldn't exactly go back to the motel room. _Obviously._ Hanna didn't like it. She didn't like leaving Noel in that room alone. What if he finally woke up? What if he got free? She needed to work out how to get back there as soon as possible. Which was going to be hard, because Caleb was more than happy to take a break, from Noel-sitting. He was content to wait it out until the test results came in, and leave Noel without a chaperone. Hanna was not. She felt uneasy having him out of her sight. Where he could do God knows what. She wanted to get back there, wanted to make sure she was there when he woke up so she could get him to confess, so he finally wouldn't be able to wriggle out of anything. But she'd never be able to shake Caleb, and she didn't really want to...she wanted him with her but...she also wanted to go back to the motel. She sighed as they pulled up outside the apartment. As they where getting out of the car, her phone rang. _Mom. I totally forgot to call her….._

Caleb trailed Hanna inside the apartment, thanking the cop quickly before returning to listening to her reassuring her mom that she was fine, it was all a misunderstanding. Go to your conference. He'd been watching her the entire ride up to the apartment in the elevator. A trip she'd made without a second thought. Without any kind of reaction. He knew she'd been recovering...to an extent. But he'd thought the elevator would still bother her. Something was up. She was planning something. And he was fairly certain he knew what it was. _She wants to go back to the motel room._ He wasn't going to let that happen. They had a few hours until Noel was their problem again. A few hours to just….relax. To be together. Try to get some sleep maybe. To just not be mixed up in this giant mess they'd created. He came up behind her as she finished talking to her mom. "She calm down?" He asked levelly.

"Yeah, she's gonna stay there" Hanna said offhandedly. Caleb wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing his head down to rest on her shoulder.

"Are you okay? You've been acting kinda off" Caleb asked quietly.

"Yeah" Hanna said, he felt her stiffen. _Why do I always have to be right._

"Are you sure?" He asked calmly.

"Yeah. I'm fine. We came back, we told the girls what happened…or our version of it and now we're back here. Yay apartment!" Hanna said with fake cheer.

"I know. I was there Han"

"Then why do you keep asking me if I'm okay?" Hanna asked, starting to get annoyed. She twisted around in his arms to face him. Caleb frowned.

"Oh I don't know. I guess I'm just waiting for an answer that I believe. You've been acting strange ever since we got back. You rode in the elevator without even thinking about it"

"I'm okay. Sorry that I don't need to hold your hand anymore Caleb" she snapped back. He snorted.

"Sorry, but I don't buy that" he said, shaking his head. Hanna let out a sound of frustration. She didn't want to argue with Caleb, but she hated it when he knew what was going on with her…when she didn't want him to know. She knew that he knew something was up, and after the last time he'd left her and she'd come back with a bludgeoned Noel Khan, he wasn't going to leave her alone for a minute. Not when he had to have some inkling that she wanted to get back to that motel room and get that confession. Caleb might want to spend just one night in the apartment forgetting everything, but she didn't. She needed to get that confession. She _needed_ to. So she'd have to push Caleb away, make him mad enough to leave. Then she could sneak out and go back to the motel. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to go to the bathroom without Caleb acting all prison guard. A very loveable and hot prison guard..but still.

"Seriously." Hanna threw her arms up in frustration. "You know what Caleb, you can go. I don't need you here and you're bugging me and you have been for days. You're suffocating me and I need some space. There's a cop right outside my door and he's not moving, unfortunately" Hanna said as she tried to walk casually over to the fridge so he couldn't see the look on her face as she lied to him. Said such awful things to him when all he'd done was be there for her. Helped her.

"Well neither am I. Seriously" He said, she turned to see him folding his arms. _Dammit Caleb why do you have to be so perfect._

"What are you talking about?" she asked archly.

"Hanna, the last time I left you alone in a room, you kidnapped Noel Khan. The time before that, you freaked out because you thought I wasn't coming back. That I'd left you again and I promised you that I would never do such a thing. The time before _that,_ AD took you. He, she it, whatever, took you from me and for a few moments there, I wasn't even sure I'd get you back. So I hate to break it to you girl, but you're stuck with me" Caleb said, holding his arms out and smirking slightly. _Damn Caleb._ Hanna thought darkly, trying not to melt at his words. She needed to be strong. She was doing this for him. Once she had that confession everything would fix itself, everything would be okay.

"Well…I really want to be left alone" Hanna said lamely, turning away from him. They both knew she still hated being alone, her recent activities might have gotten over her fear of the dark slightly but then again….Caleb had been there the entire time, and she hadn't exactly been thinking when she went after Noel. She'd shut that part of herself off somehow. For all she knew...if she did manage to get Caleb to leave, she'd be stuck in a corner of the room trying to remember how to breathe.

"Why? You have…somewhere you need to be Han? Like...oh I don't know….a seedy motel room with an unconscious psychopath?" Caleb asked with a raised eyebrow. _Dammit._ She cursed mentally. _Why does he always have to have me figured out? Why can he read me so easily? Why does he always know what I'm thinking?! The one time I need him to just ignore me…to not pay attention and he just won't act like a typical boy and do it. God damn._

"You are a real pain in the ass" Hanna burst out, whirling back to face him. Caleb looked surprised momentarily. _Oh Caleb, you're so sweet, you're such a perfect boyfriend. What would I do without you? Of course I'm being stupid, you got me. Let's not fight, let's enjoy some time together instead of it being all about Noel, Noel, Noel._ Had been what he'd expected to hear.

"So are you!" he shot back reflexively.

"Excuse me?" Hanna looked comically offended. "I know it's been difficult lately but…I…I…."

"Hanna I'm not talking about that. That's understandable after everything you went through. You know I don't care about that..that it doesn't change how I feel about you. God I'm talking about you in general, the rest of the time. You're infuriating. You won't admit when you're up to something. You always go off and do something crazy, like abducting crazy psychopaths, without letting me help you. You don't do dishes until they mould. You eat french fries in bed. _Cold_. You don't gass up the car until it starts beeping. It took you forever to admit that we're meant to spend the rest of our lives together. Seriously. That one was the _worst_ and then you won't even take the opportunity to spend some time with me, just a couple of hours, since you admitted that, for us to be… _us_. To be with each other, and forget about all of this stupid crap. If you won't give us that time then I'm never going to find the right opportunity to give you the ring that I picked out. All by myself, might I add. I didn't even ask for help from the girl in the store. Because the longer this goes on, the more danger we're in, the more I don't care about waiting for later, the more I want to put that ring on your finger." Caleb broke off his rant breathing heavily. "OH and you send food back if the waiter even breathes on it funny! Who does that!? And you know what? There's probably milk in that fridge that's older than me" he finished, breathing harder than before, with a satisfied nod.

"What did you say?" Hanna said staring at him.

"About the milk?" Caleb asked confused, then quickly ran back what he'd said in his head. _Oh shit. I didn't mean to burst it out like that, I was thinking it and…oh my God I did a Hanna. She's contagious. I blurted. I couldn't help it. Everything in my brain, came out of my mouth. I just….I just want us to spend some time together. To forget everything that's happened. To smile and laugh and get lost in each other. Because with this whole Noel situation, I don't see us having time for that any time soon. It'll probably only get worse. It usually does._ Caleb thought darkly.

"No" Hanna said shakily. Caleb met her eyes and walked towards her, standing so close their foreheads where almost touching. He cupped her face.

"Han. You know I never want to spend another day without your. Ever. For the rest of my life. I love you." Caleb reached down to his pocket with one hand, and pulled out a box. _Okay Caleb. It's not quite the perfect moment you where waiting for. But….whatever happens, I want Hanna to be with me, by my side through it all, I want her to have me. To know she has me. To always be reminded of it, even when I'm not there. I want…..okay...we're doing this._

Caleb swallowed and sunk down to one knee.

"Hanna….I love you. So much. _So,_ so much, there aren't even words. I know, you might not be ready for this, and I wasn't planning on springing this on you so soon. I was going to wait for a better time but….whatever happens. Noel, the cops, AD….I want you to be mine. For everyone to know you're mine. And when I'm not there, you can look at this ring, and you can know that I'll always come for you. That you'll always have me. That I'll always be there for you. We've been through so much Han, I just….I….will you marry me?" Caleb asked, looking up at her hopefully. Tears streamed down Hanna's face. _Oops?_

"That's a really stupid question" she said, reaching down and pulling him up towards her, until they where standing with their foreheads touching. "Yes" she whispered, bringing her lips to Calebs. The kiss was short and so very sweet, before Caleb pulled away and carefully pulled the ring out from its velvet cushion. He glanced up at a Hanna, a smile playing practically splitting his face, to see her smiling right back at him. A genuine, happy, 100% Hanna Marin smile. He slipped the ring on to her finger gently, then paused holding her hand lightly...admiring it.

"It's perfect" Hanna breathed.

"I thought you'd think so. I didn't even have help" Caleb reminded her proudly.

"So you said" Hanna said, raising an eyebrow.

"What, I really didn't! Ask any of the girls! None of them knew or-" Hanna cut him off by kissing him again, and wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Caleb kissed her back, deepening the kiss and wrapping his arms around her carefully. Before long he found himself backing her towards the couch, or was Hanna pulling him towards the couch? He wasn't sure. But either way they didn't quite make it before sinking down to the ground, completely lost in each other and never losing their hold on the other. She started to tug on Caleb's shirt, but he stilled her hands.

"Han….we don't have to, after everything…I-" Hanna cut him off with a kiss for the second time, "I want to" She said quietly, holding his gaze so he could read the sincerity and intention in her eyes. To know she meant it...that this really was okay. That she really did want to take this step. After a few moments, Hanna broke their gaze and steadily started undoing every single button on his shirt. Once she'd removed his shirt she sat back and gazed at him briefly. _I missed this. I missed him._ Hanna brought his hands to the hem of her shirt. He looked in to her eyes, saw the love there. The determination. He kissed her quickly then gently pulled her shirt over her head. He stared at her. The marks still marring her skin. Vicious and angry. Hanna jolted, as if she was just remembering they where again. As if she'd managed to forget them during her happiness. She awkwardly brought her hands up trying to cover them but Caleb stopped her. He gently took her hands in his, and moved them out of the way. "Caleb what are you-" she started to ask, but stopped when he brought his mouth to the first mark. He kissed it softly. He loved Hanna. He loved every part of her, every bruise, every scar, every mark. She was perfect to him. She was strong because of what she'd been through, what she'd survived and the marks, the scars..they showed that. And he would show her that.


	36. Chapter Thirty-Six

Hanna awoke to the sound of a phone ringing. She was dressed in Caleb's shirt, no matter what he said…how he made her feel, she was still conscious of the marks on her skin and so he'd put his shirt on her to make her more comfortable before they'd fallen asleep. She was comfortable and…..content. Wrapped in Caleb's arms. Wrapped in her fiancés arms. She didn't want to move, she wanted to bask in the moment. While she still could. Caleb was right, they had needed this, this time together. I mean sure, they'd gotten engaged in that time, but even if they hadn't…spending time with him…she'd needed it before she faced whatever was going to happen next because it probably wasn't going to be pretty. It was that thought that brought her fully awake. She noted the daylight flooding in to the room. The phone continued to ring incessantly and her head snapped towards the sound. _Crap, it could be the lab!_ She hurriedly crawled out from under Caleb's arm, making sure she didn't wake him, and she rushed over to her ringing phone. Sure enough, it showed that "McBribe" was calling. She'd amused herself by entering the number that way, but she couldn't bring herself to even crack a smile at it now. She took a breath and then quickly answered.

"Do you have the results?" She asked nervously and straight to the point. _Why am I nervous? It's not like it's my test._

"Yeah….they're not a match" Hanna's blood froze and she felt the colour drain from her face. She'd been so _sure._

"What? Are you sure?" she panicked, but tried desperately to remain calm.

"We tested the sample you gave against the DNA you provided….and they don't match" The tech repeated slowly.

"Is there any way that you made a mistake?" Hanna asked, trying to cling to anything she could.

"No. Those two people are not related" the blunt words hit home. Hanna brought her hand up to her forehead. After everything…everything she'd done…and she hadn't even gotten the evidence they needed. She thought this would be it…it would be proof….she needed to go back and get that confession, she would have to because without the DNA…without it….

"Okay, so there's no way that you dropped the ketchup from your hot dog or….or one of the hairs from your beard fell in there?" Hanna asked, giving in to her panic. _No. no no. I was helping. I was protecting everyone that I love…for nothing? No. This can't be happening._

"Uuuhh I don't have a beard" the tech replied and Hanna sighed. Of course he didn't. She knew that.

"Look you have to be wrong" she said.

"We didn't make a mistake, they're not a match. I'm sorry" the tech sounded sincere. Hanna hung up before she could make more of an idiot of herself. She couldn't believe this. She'd been so sure, all the evidence had been there, all the pieces had been there. Sure it didn't prove that Noel wasn't AD, but this would have been a trump card. A trump card she'd needed to take to the girls. She'd almost let herself believe last night, that the confession didn't matter as long as they had the results. She'd been an idiot. She knew better. Solid proof, that's what they needed. Solid, inescapable evidence. The worst thing was she was going to have to tell the girls what happened and how big she'd screwed up because she didn't know what to do next. They couldn't just let Noel walk free, she'd been anticipating getting the DNA results, and then taking it to Noel. Getting a full confession. She couldn't do that on her own and Noel wouldn't react to Caleb at all. She'd have to tell the girls because she was going to need their help. She was going to need Spencer's brain. She opened up the group chat and sent a quick text.

**_Spencers House. Now. I screwed up big._ **

She put the phone down and groaned, hearing Caleb shifting. _Of course he's awake. He probably has a little inbuilt radar that goes off when I start to freak._

"It'll be fine Han. So the DNA didn't match. We'll meet the girls, tell them what happened and then we'll all go over there and-"

"And what Caleb? We can't beat a confession out of him!" _Well...we could..._

"Much as I want to, I do know that Han" Caleb said, coming up behind her and hugging her tightly. "We'll have to go and talk to him."

"He wont say anything. We don't have enough on him to get him to admit it. He won't. I know he won't. Not after how he acted when I met him. So confident….condescending. We have nothing" Hanna said fretfully. "I just wanted to prove that Noel was AD. I just wanted to help".

"I know Han, and we will. We'll prove it's him, and you've done so much already. We'll just have to come up with something else to get him to talk. It's not like he's going anywhere, he's taped to a chair and last we saw, he looked like he was auditioning for Sleeping Beauty. But we can't keep the girls in the dark anymore. This is too big for just us."

"I know. I already sent a text. We'll be meeting at Spencer's house" she groaned, leaning in to Caleb's embrace.

"I'll go with you" Caleb said reassuringly.

"No" Hanna said, and Caleb looked down at her. "I need you to help Mona tail Jenna, she can't keep doing it alone, she's exhausted and she needs the help. She's trying to do that and hack Jenna's phone and hack Sara's phone and-"

"I got it Han. Mona's got a lot on her plate. I'll go and help her if you really want but are you sure you don't need me?"

"It's like you want to get bitched out by Spencer" Hanna grumbled, making Caleb laugh.

"Not really. She'll be all 'And you _let_ her?!' and her voice'll go up that extra octave." Caleb teased and Hanna couldn't help it, she laughed.

"Please, help Mona. I don't know how…but somehow the blind girl with no eyes, needs two pairs of eyes on her." Hanna darkly muttered. Caleb squeezed her tightly.

"Okay. You sure you'll be fine with the girls?"

"Um…probably. I mean…they'll yell and then Spencer will come up with a plan and we'll go and get Noel to confess everything or….or maybe we'll get Spencer's cop to come too…or something, I don't know. But we'll fix it and then everything will be fine." Hanna said with false determination and positivity, getting a skeptical look from Caleb. She withered under it. "How about, it's daylight and I'll be with the girls, and it'd be five against one, so I feel less freaked out about going without you, and...Noel used to be terrified of Spencer because of that look so..." Hanna tried. Caleb just shook his head, hiding a smile. Hanna hugged him tightly. _I'm being ridiculous. It'll be fine. Tell the girls. Go get Noel. Make him confess. Or get Spencer to sweet talk that cop that likes her in to not arresting us and take him with us to get a confession. Problem solved, home to have dinner with Caleb. Or something. It'll be fine Hanna. It'll be fine._

* * *

It was not fine. It was so far from fine. She'd told the girls, they'd been mad. She understood that. But Aria had been calm and had remained the voice of reason, sticking up for Hanna and keeping the conversation on track when it looked like Spencer wanted to strangle her. More than once. They'd gone to the motel and Hanna had taken them right to the door. Aria had actually asked her if she'd remembered to water and feed him….as if he was a pet. _Duh. Of course she had. Or…well…he'd been out the entire time so she'd left some water kinda close…food too….and they'd retied his hands so he'd be able to eat and drink...probably._ She'd pushed the door open and everything had tunnelled in to that one moment. She'd dimly heard Spencer asking if she'd remembered to tie him up, doing that thing with her voice. Hanna had barely heard her. She'd been too busy staring at the chair. The empty chair. Noel had been gone. The chair was there. The tape was there. The ropes where there. But Noel was gone. And so was the camera. Noel had proof that Hanna had kidnapped him, he could make it look really, really bad for her. If that wasn't enough, the ominous sound of their text alerts had signalled things getting even worse. Hanna really didn't want to look..but the not knowing was even worse.

**_1465 elm street. 10pm bitches. Let's swap. My thumb drive for your camera._ **

Hanna looked at the text, then up at the incredibly creepy building in front of her. She really, really did not want to go in there. It was like one of those houses in horror movies, that you screamed at the dumb characters not to go in.

"This is the place" she confirmed grimly, and the group marched down the path to the front door, Hanna was trying very, very hard not to freak out. There hadn't been time to grab Caleb and Hanna was feeling his absence. The other girls being there went some way to comfort her...but it wasn't quite the same. Aria grabbed Hanna's elbow, sliding her arm through and Hanna gave her a small smile. The large, and very heavy looking door was stiff, and it took Hanna a few moments to get it open.

"Is the door locked?"

"I doubt it. Who would want to break in here?" Spencer had replied to Emily, while Hanna had finally managed to shove the door with enough force to get it to open, thanks to some help from Aria. She was the first one inside. She peered around, it was dim and grungy and she could…..she could hear…..her mind flashed back to the barn. The darkness. The sounds. She couldn't see them but she knew they where there.

"Oh my God I hate rats" Hanna managed to stop herself from screaming, but she backed away in to Aria, who grabbed hold of her arm again comfortingly.

"I hate not knowing what this place is" Aria said quietly, while rubbing Hanna's arm.

"And why Noel wants us here" Alison added. Hanna swallowed, and clutched Aria's hand, she then started to take some deep, calming breaths. She couldn't afford to freak out. It was fine. She was with her friends. Safety in numbers. Right? Hanna distantly heard Emily say something, and Aria gently tugged her over to where the other girl was standing. She wasn't paying attention to anything that was being said. She had a feeling. A really, really bad feeling. Something didn't feel right. Something was missing. She didn't like it and she badly wished she hadn't sent Caleb off with Mona. Sure she'd made some progress, but not enough for the creep fest that was this place. Then again, she hadn't exactly had time to grab Caleb before they'd had to leave to get to this place nor had she had time to fill him in. _If he doesn't hear from me…he's going to know somethings wrong and he'll come and find us. He'll bring the cops too because he won't take any chances. Not with me. It'll be fine. Damn. I really need to stop saying that…thinking it…whatever. It never ends well._

Hanna tuned back in to the conversation.

"So Jenna could have come here when she first lost her eyesight?" Hanna asked. Before any of the girls could reply, there was a strange noise, then the creepy, tension filled silence was finally broken, much to Hanna's dismay. She saw that dismay etched in to her friends faces too.

"I didn't lose my sight. You took it from me" Jenna. It was Jenna. But Caleb and Mona where supposed to be watching her. She shouldn't be here she should be at Radley. Had something had happened to Caleb? Had Jenna done something to he and Mona to get away from them? Where they here? Hanna started to panic. _No. She wouldn't have hurt them. She probably just gave them the slip. It's what she's good at and it's why I told Caleb to help Mona. They're fine. They have to be. He has to be. Time to end this and then we can all go home, and Caleb and I can watch Disney movies and eat ice cream and just…be together._

"I have the thumb drive" Hanna said with a lot more confidence than she felt.

"Give us the camera and we walk away" Spencer added.

"And we'll pretend like none of this happened" Aria finished. They waited. The pause seeming to stretch on and on.

"Leave it on the table" the answer finally came and Hanna breathed a sigh of relief, before turning to place it as instructed. Ordinarily she wouldn't have liked giving up evidence that they needed. But Caleb had made a copy. A copy that he had with him. She wouldn't be surprised if Mona had made a copy of his copy, just to be safe. _Or three...why stop at one._

Hanna came out of her thoughts as she heard voices….no not voices…just one voice. A very familiar voice. Her voice.

_Wake up bitch._

"What is that?" Alison asked with trepidation

"That's me…..trying to get answers from Noel" Hanna explained to the girls. Emily sighed.

"The camera's upstairs" the unspoken 'of course' tacked on the end. Hanna could feel the dread building and she desperately tried to shove it down.

"Let's go" Hanna said. She wanted to get out of there, and she wanted to get out of there now. She wasn't going to spend any more time in this place than she had to. The girls trooped up the stairs, they didn't even make it halfway up before the front door slammed shut. They spun as one to face it. Hanna glanced at the table…the thumb drive was gone. She swallowed, and looked at the others. There was an unspoken agreement, and Hanna continued up the stairs. The others close behind.

_Fine. We'll do it my way._

_This is your chance to tell me the truth._

_Fine. We'll do it my way._

_Just admit it. Admit you're AD!_

They followed the sounds of Hanna's voice down a dimly lit hallway, and in to a room on the left. _What the hell?_ Hanna thought looking around. Baby dolls where everywhere, along with plastic cribs and every baby care thing you could need.

"Was there a blind baby epidemic I didn't know about?" Alison asked, cutting the tension. Hanna ignored her, and she ignored the other girls. She'd spotted the camera towards the back of the room and she'd hurried towards it. She picked it up, turning it to face her and she watched the video playing back on the little LCD screen. _If only we'd gotten that confession. We wouldn't be here now. We wouldn't be dealing with this. I was stupid. I shouldn't have left Noel alone….no I can't regret what happened between me and Caleb. I won't…this was my fault. If I hadn't kidnapped Noel this wouldn't be happening. I should have listened to Caleb and gone home. Gone with the girls to the police. I've just made a bigger and bigger mess by trying to do things by myself. I ruined everything. It's all my fault._

Hanna abruptly snapped the screen shut, cutting off the playback. "Let's get out of here" she said in to the silence. Leading the way to the door, the others falling in with her. Of course Spencer had to lead them in to the worlds creepiest room, full of jars of….things. She didn't look too closely at them to see what kind of...things they where. She didn't want to. It gave her the creeps. She didn't know why Spencer had lead them all in here, when they could have been halfway to freedom right then. The longer she spent in this building the worse her bad feeling got. She wanted outside. She wanted the fresh air and she wanted the open space around her. She concentrated on her breathing while the others talked around her and when Alison turned to leave, Hanna quickly followed her, the other girl grabbing her hand as she went. The exit was in sight, it was right there, they where nearly out…nearly…..

"Oh no. I left my phone upstairs" Emily brought everyone to a halt.

"Seriously" Alison said, mirroring Hanna's reaction.

"I don't want to go back up there by myself" Emily complained. Hanna looked around. They where all standing there, no-one volunteering to go with her. Emily wouldn't leave without her damn phone and if no-one agreed to go with her, they'd be stuck standing here all night. _I just want to go home. To Caleb._ Hanna thought, and with a sigh, she handed the camera to Alison. Alison squeezed her hand before letting go.

"Come on" Hanna said heading back towards the stairs, Emily hot on her heels. _I can't believe I'm doing this. Why am I doing this? Oh right. Because Emily's my friend, and the girl who was locked in a barn and tortured by this freak show is the only one with enough balls to go back upstairs to get her damn phone._

Hanna froze, her thoughts cutting off. She and Emily had just turned to go down the hallway when she'd heard…or she thought she'd heard….it sounded like…

 _"_ Did you hear that?" Emily asked. Hanna didn't reply. She'd really hoped she was hearing things. Really, _really_ hoped. She shared a look with Emily, the two both deciding that they where hearing things because it was the only option that wouldn't end with them running out screaming. _We're adults. We're too old to be scared of ghosts and monsters. Of course..there is an actual monster or two in this building but...we did as they asked._ The building was old. It made weird noises. _Let's get the phone and go._ They mentally agreed. They took another step in to the hallway, and another….another…..there. They heard it again and froze. The creak of someone standing on a floorboard that did not want to be stood upon. Hanna closed her eyes tightly, swallowing convulsively. She reached for Emily's hand and the other girl gripped hers. Hard. She was barely breathing.

"Did you really think we'd let you leave?" _That voice? No. No please no._ She and Emily spun towards the voice and Hanna lost all the air in her lungs. _Noel._

"You know too much" he said, taking another menacing step forward. Hanna tried really, really hard to stay calm. She really did. But she felt the memories crowding in on her, the terror crawling up the back of her throat and choking her. She could hear her own screams cutting through her thoughts. _Caleb….Caleb…I really need you right now._


	37. Chapter Thirty-Seven

Caleb and Mona knew they'd screwed up. They'd thought they where in control, that they had Jenna right where they'd wanted her. But they where wrong. They should have known better. They'd let their guards down and somehow she'd gotten past them. She'd outwitted them. The moment Sydney had revealed herself, Caleb knew something very, very bad was going on. He knew it deep down and he had a feeling he couldn't shake, like Hanna needed him. Never taking his eyes off of Sydney's retreating form he'd dialled Hanna. Then again. And Again. But she never answered and his stomach dropped. He and Mona watched Sydney walk away, never taking their eyes off of her, they watched her walk all the way out of the Radley and then they'd turned towards Mona's laptop like wolves on a deer. Mona typing so fast her fingers where practically a blur. She couldn't hack Hanna's phone. She couldn't hack any of the girls phones. Caleb had made sure of that because he'd wanted to keep Hanna safe and he was kicking himself for it. But there was one phone Mona could hack. Jenna's. And she did. She hacked Noel's too, just for good measure. Just to make sure their suspicions where correct. Everything in Caleb wanted to freak out, wanted to scream and punch something, and rush straight to Hanna. But that wouldn't help her. He needed to be calm about this. He and Mona couldn't go rushing in by themselves to whatever was going on. As badly as he wanted to get to Hanna right then. Right that second. He knew they couldn't do this alone.

"1465 Elm Street. They're both there. Yes. Caleb and I both have copies of the video, I already emailed it to you. Good. Thank you" Mona hung up and turned to face Caleb. "I called Fury. I told him everything, he listened and he seemed to believe me, I don't know what, if anything Spencers told him about the girls past with Noel and Jenna...but he did more than any other cop just by that. I told him the girls where missing, that we couldn't get hold of Hanna. He understood how rare that was since...what happened to her. He knows about what she's been going through. He knows something weirds going on. I told him the address I got from pinging Jenna and Noel's phones and I emailed him the video. Which he just watched. Twice. He's going to meet us there with backup." Mona said with satisfaction. "He damn well believed us" she said, semi-disbelivingly. Caleb immediately jumped up.

"Thank God because I can't sit here any longer doing nothing, let's go Mona" Caleb said, grabbing her laptop and his jacket and speeding out of the Radley, his only thought to get to Hanna and make sure she was safe. To be there if she needed him.

"My car's on the right" Mona called as she followed behind him.

* * *

Hanna didn't want to move, didn't think she could as she faced Noel down that hallway. It was like she was frozen to the floor. She was barely managing to breathe. All she could see was darkness, all she could feel was cold, and phantom pain from her scars. All she could hear was screaming and crying. Luckily, Emily didn't have the same problem. She gently pushed Hanna, forcing her to move in to the creepy room that Hanna had hoped never to have to set foot in again. _I really don't want to die in here._ She tried not to look at anything too hard. Or touch anything. She quickly closed the door on reflex, it would buy them a few seconds to hide, and let them know when Noel made his entrance. Hopefully. She and Emily quickly ducked behind a shelving unit to wait for the perfect moment to hopefully run right on by Noel to freedom. It was just in time. The sound of a door opening, the hinges squeaking rung out in the silence and set Hanna's nerves on edge. But...it wasn't he door Hanna had closed. _Two entrances?!_

"You can run" Noel practically sang in to the silence. "But you can't hide" he said ominously and Hanna felt herself start to shake uncontrollably. Emily gripped her arm, trying to calm her. They watched in silence, hardly daring to breath as Noel walked over to a suit of armour. No..he didn't walk. He limped. Hanna allowed herself to relish the fact that she'd done that to him. She'd left a mark like he'd left on her. She'd caused him pain. She'd made him suffer. Just like he'd done to her. He wasn't unaffected. The satisfaction she felt died a quick death when Noel reached out and relieved the armour of it's axe. _I liked him a lot better when he was all limpy and crazy and completely unarmed. Who leaves an axe lying around for any old psycho to find!?_ He hefted it in his hands as he started to walk in their direction. Gripping it tightly. Testing it. Hanna swallowed.

"Taught Jenna a lot. The one thing she taught Charlotte and me…." Emily and Hanna looked at each other, Hanna was itching to make a run for it, everything in her screamed to run, but Emily subtly shook her head. _Wait._ "….was how to smell fear" Noel finished. And he looked right at them. Hanna would swear it. He was looking right at them. He'd known they where there. _How?! No...he's just guessing, or...or maybe we aren't as quiet as we thought. We're being hunted down by a psycho, breathings hard enough without trying to be quiet and I...I'm really struggling over here._ She didn't have time to wonder and work herself up for long. Emily caught her eye and gave a slight nod. As one, the girls heaved with all their strength, and pushed the shelving unit over, watching briefly as it knocked in to another…and another….and then in to Noel. They saw him go down, and then they ran from the room. They didn't have much time, they needed a weapon.

"We need to take him by surprise. It's our only chance. Here" Emily handed Hanna a long piece of metal from the junk room that she'd pulled Hanna in to, Hanna was too busy trying to focus and not let Emily down to pay much attention to her makeshift weapon. "I need you to hit him with it, surprise him, then I can maybe get it a hit in"

"Maybe?" Hanna managed not to shriek. Her voice came out surprisingly faint. _Is that really my voice?_

"It's all we've got Hanna. It's our only chance, our only option." Hanna nodded slowly, she knew Emily was right. They hadn't come prepared to fight for their lives. Gripping the cold metal tightly in a white knuckled grip she and Emily set their plan in motion. They creeped towards the door and peered through the crack between the door and the frame. Tension hummed through Hanna's body. She was on a hairpin trigger. They heard his heavy footsteps. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

"You bitches never understood me." _Why would we want to?_ "I always get what I want" they heard him say. A shiver ran up Hanna's spine and she swallowed as best she could with a mouth that had suddenly gone dry. They watched him turn away from them, and head in the opposite direction. Hanna steeled herself. _This is it._ _I need to do this. I've only got one chance. If I fail, Emily's dead. I need to protect her. She's my friend and I need to protect her. I need to do this. This entire situation is my fault. I can't let her get hurt because of it. Because of me._ Hanna took a breath and creeped out in to the hall, placing her feet carefully, praying the floor wouldn't give her ...closer…closer…she couldn't take the tension anymore, at any moment he could turn around and see her. And h she'd be standing there like a moron. No. She needed to act. Now. Quickly. _Make him pay._ She started to run. Noel must have heard her footsteps then, because he turned his head ever so slightly. Screaming in rage and fear Hanna hit him with one end of her weapon, getting a direct hit on him. The crack that rang out filling her with satisfaction. Before he could react, she quickly brought it back up again to knock the axe from his flailing hands. He went down, but he recovered quickly and Hanna froze in fear as he leaped to his feet and came at her. Taller than her. Bigger than her. Stronger than her. Before she could lose any shred of self control she had, Emily was suddenly there and before Noel could react she pulled her arm back and punched him. Hard. The blow to the face sent him in to the wall, and he fell backwards.

Emily and Hanna watched in horror as time seemed to slow down…Noel fell straight to the ground. He didn't even attempt to break his fall. Just fell like a puppet with no strings. Emily must have knocked him out with just that one hit...or maybe the wall had. They'd never know. But he was dead weight….the momentum from the punch sending him ricocheting off the wall sent him straight down…down..down….which normally would have been fine...but there was an object at a dangerous angle right where it shouldn't be. His neck struck the axe. Hard. The dead weight of his body pulling him down and down and down, until….Hanna gasped out loud and immediately covered her mouth as she felt bile rising up her throat. As she watched his head….. _just like that bowling bowl. Oh my God. I'm gonna be sick._ She thought. She couldn't take her eyes off of Noel's headless body. Blood slowly starting to ooze out. She dimly heard the thump of his head rolling down the stairs and hitting every damn step. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Hanna's breath was coming in short, sharp gasps. She jumped when the other girls appeared at the top of the stairs suddenly. They hurried towards she and Emily. Hanna had thought she would feel something as she stared down at Noel's body. He was dead. He'd gotten what he deserved…hadn't he? But she didn't feel anything. Anything at all. She just stared and stared at what had been Noel. All she could think was that he was going to get away with it. Without his confession….nobody would know what he'd done. He couldn't go to trial. Not when he was dead. Aria's harsh whisper brought her back to reality she really didn't want to be in.

"You guys we gotta get out of here. Jenna's got a gun" Aria had barely finished speaking when they heard heavy footsteps on the stairs and Hanna wanted to cry with frustration. The girl herself appeared as if summoned, gun pointing out in front of her. She turned towards them and Hanna could barely breathe. She just wanted to be at home. With Caleb. Not watching Noel get a taste of revolutionary France and have Jenna the blind wonder waving a firearm in her face. They waited in tense silence, limbs held taut as they struggled not to move. A moment. Two. Then Jenna turned and started to walk in the other direction, every so slowly. One step. Two. Three. Spencer spun around and started hurrying them ahead of her, ever the leader, the one taking care of everyone else, gently pushing them to get down the hallway and down the stairs to the door. Hanna didn't think, she just moved as fast as she could, as quietly as she could. Down the stairs. Towards the door. It was right there. Right in front of her. She was nearly out. Nearly safe. Or as safe as she could be without Caleb there. She dimly heard a shot ring out. Screaming that chilled her to the bone. But she couldn't tell who it was. Her blood was rushing in her ears, drowning everything out. Emily reached the door first and started to pull on it, hard. Her frustration clear the more she jerked on the handle.

"They locked us in" She said grimly.

"They where never gonna let us leave" Hanna could feel the panic rising up. _Stupid. We where so stupid. We should know better._ She would never see Caleb again. She'd never get to marry Caleb. Not when she was dead. Shot by Jenna, and it wasn't like it was going to be painless. The girl was blind for gods sake. It would be like a freaking fairground stall to her. Hanna gasped in a breath. Jenna would have heard them thundering down the stairs, she was blind not deaf. She couldn't have missed it. She'd be on her way. They couldn't get out. They had nowhere to hide. She was trapped. She was trapped again and Caleb wasn't here and this time she really would die. She felt a hot tears silently start to slide down her face as her breaths sawed unevenly in and out.

"Where's Spencer?" Alison asked. Hanna felt herself go cold all over. The shots. The scream. _No...Spencer..not Spencer._ They all looked at each other, united in that moment, preparing to run back to find their friend. _If we're going to die we may as well all go together._ Hanna thought morbidly. But then….flashing lights. She blinked. Sure she was seeing things. But there they where again. On the other side of the glass. Red. Blue. Red. Blue. Hanna felt her breath hitch in her chest. _How?_

"Hanna?! HANNA?!" a voice shouting her name. _Caleb. Of course._

"CALEB!?" Hanna half screamed, half sobbed his name as she started slapping at the door, the other girls shouting with her, "We can't get the door open" Hanna sobbed, struggling to breathe. There was silence, then moments later there was a heavy thudding as something hit the door, again and again. Hard enough to shake the door in its frame. She could hear Caleb swearing through the door.

"Get out of the way, let me do it" _Was that...Mona?_

"You're going to break down a door? In those heels? Sure Mona"

"This isn't my first time breaking and entering. Besides, you'd be surprised what a girl can do in heels"

"Can you two stop bickering and get the damn door open" Emily shrieked, while Hanna wrapped the comforting sound of Caleb and Mona around herself like a protective blanket. The was more thudding on the door. Mona and Caleb trying to break the door down, followed by voices she couldn't make out.

"What is this, amateur hour?!" Alison shrieked.

"Han, you and the girls need to step back as far as you can and cover your faces okay?" Caleb said reassuringly from the other side of the door. They huddled backwards, too scared to go far. They didn't know where Jenna was. It had been quiet since the screaming stopped. Too quiet and they where making enough noise that she should have been there by now. Unless... _maybe...maybe it was Jenna. Maybe Spencer got Jenna...but then why..._ Hanna was jolted by Aria nudging her and she followed suit as the girls brought their hands up to do as Caleb had instructed them. The heavy thuds against the door drowned out everything. Hanna focused on the sound. The seconds, turning in to minutes. And then...the front door shattered as a police battering ram burst through and the girls flinched. Hanna could feel Aria's face buried in her neck, and her hand pushing Hanna's head in to hers. Trying to protect her because she was too much of a basket case right then to protect herself. She hugged Aria tightly and went to pull away. Hanna barely had time to straighten up, before a body collided with hers, and two arms wrapped around her tightly. She inhaled. _Caleb._ He was there. She was safe now, no matter what happened. He hugged her to him tightly, crushing her but she didn't care. She clutched him back, crying in to his chest, unable to stop herself as the fear and terror flooded out of her.

"Shhhh Han, shhh it's okay" he said soothingly, squeezing her even tighter. She was dimly aware of the other girls gathering around them, arms wrapped around each other.

"Mona?" Aria asked questioningly, and it was only then that Hanna could focus on anyone other than Caleb. Of him being there. Of her feeling safe, at ease. She looked up to see her friend standing beside Caleb. Her friend who'd tried to break down a door in one of her favourite pairs of heels. For Hanna. She pulled Mona in to the hug, unwilling to let go of Caleb. Mona didn't even complain. Hugging Hanna back tightly, before stepping back to address all of them.

"We lost Jenna, and she made sure we knew it. Which was her mistake. I pinged her and Noel's cells, got this address….and then I called the cops. I told them everything. They know everything. They've seen the video. And after seeing this…." Mona trailed off. "Where's Spencer?" she asked.

"I'd like to know too" said a new voice. Hanna turned to see Spencer's….friend. Detective Fury. She swallowed hard.

"Jenna. She's here. She has a gun. She and Noel set this up, they where going to…to…"

"They where going to kill us" Alison enunciated clearly and Hanna nodded.

"Noel…he came after Emily and me…..and…he….had an axe….and…and…"

"It was self defence, I hit him and he…he fell on it and…" Emily tried to continue.

"Oh my God is that a head?" Mona shrieked catching sight of something on the ground. Fury whipped around, noted Noels missing head with barely a raised eyebrow, and after motioning at it to an officer, he then quickly turned back to the girls.

"So what happened to Spencer?" He said, his gaze focused on them.

"We ran down the stairs, Spencer was trying to get us out, but Jenna heard us and I don't know what happened next…it's all a blur, we made it to the door, but there was a shot and screaming and we didn't know where it came from or who it came from…we where about to back upstairs to find Spence but then you guys got here…." Fury nodded to himself, then turned and dashed up the stairs. Hanna dragging Caleb with her, and the rest of the girls tailing them.

"SPENCER?!"

"SPENCE?"

"WHERE ARE YOU?"

"SPENCER?"

They called her name as they searched for her, ducking in and out of rooms. Afraid of what they'd find.

"In here!" Ali suddenly shouted, and the girls rushed over to her. Detective Fury and Caleb close behind. Hanna grabbed hold of Caleb as she came to a stop, eyes wide with horror. Spencer was lying on the floor, blood all over her chest… and her head was in….it was in Mary's lap. And Mary was singing. It was so….familiar to her. Something was niggling at the back of her brain. It was eerie, and she could feel goosebumps raising on her arms….she'd seen this before..no…no she hadn't seen it she'd…she'd lived it…

Hanna's mind flashed back to the barn. Her curled up on the floor of the barn, her head in Spencer's lap while Spencer stroked her hair. Spencer singing to her. Singing this song. The one time she'd felt even remotely comforted in that hellhole. "It was you. You must have been wearing a mask….to look like her…but it was you" Hanna said to her. Mary looked up at her, the look in her eyes all the confirmation Hanna needed. Hanna opened her mouth, to say what she didn't know. She didn't think Mary had been the one who had tortured her. She'd saved her, driven her all the way to Spencer's. Taken care of her as best she could. She'd comforted her in the barn. Sure Hanna had thought it was Spencer, but once she'd been out she thought it was a delusion, but it had been Mary. It had actually happened. She'd comforted her. Reassured her. But why didn't she help her sooner? Why didn't she let her out once she'd known Hanna had nothing to do with Charlotte's death….but then…she had. She'd told her how to get out…hadn't she? She'd drawn Hanna's attention to her escape route. Hanna's head hurt. She was confused, and terrified and coming down from a heavy adrenalin rush, emotions crashing throughout her. She squeezed herself in to Caleb's side, his arms coming around her.

"Get the paramedics up here now" Fury barked in to his walkie talkie, kneeling down beside Spencer.

"Hold on Spencer. Just a little longer. Please don't leave me. I would never hurt you Spencer. I'm your mother" Mary said in to the silence.


End file.
